By Emmanuel Udom
A Federal High Court sitting in Osogbo, the Osun State capital, has ordered the Inspector General of Police, Mr Kayode Egbetokun, to arrest the former INEC chairman, Prof. Mahmoud Yakubu, for contempt of court.
It would be recalled that Yakubu on Tuesday stepped down as the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, having completed his term in office.
Prior to that, the court held that the former INEC boss had earlier failed to implement the court’s order to relist national officers of a political party, the Action Alliance, on its website.
“It is hereby ordered that the Inspector General of Police shall cause the arrest and shall charge the defendant/judgment debtors for contempt and committal proceedings within seven days of this ruling,” the court held.
The party had instituted a case before the court challenging INEC and Yakubu, over the commission’s non-compliance with the judgment of the Court delivered by Justice Funmilola Demi-Ajayi in suit number FHC/OS/CS/194/2024.
The court had in the said judgment ordered INEC to put the names of the National Chairman of the Action Alliance, Adekunle Omoaje, and other members of the party’s National Executive Committee on the INEC portal.
The Court had also held that the names of all the state chairmen of the AA be uploaded on the INEC portal.
The court further held that the elective convention of the AA held on the 7th of Oct., 2023 which produced Omoaje as the national chairman of the party and other NEC members of the party was authentic.
According to the court, the convention was properly monitored and supervised by officials of INEC in accordance with the party’s constitution and the electoral acts.
Although INEC claimed to have complied with the court judgment, the party disagreed with the commission, as the name of Omoaje was yet to be uploaded on the commission’s website despite the orders of the Court.
The names of the state chairmen of the party under the leadership of Omoaje and those of the NEC members were already on the INEC portal, but Omoaje’s name had yet to be uploaded as of press time, a development that the court frowned at.
Yakubu served as INEC Chairman from 2015 to 2025, making him the longest-serving chairman in Nigeria’s history.
May Agbamuche-Mbu is currently the Acting Chairman of the Commission.
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu is expected to appoint a substantive head of the Commission during the Security Council meeting scheduled for Oct. 9.
