Court Orders Arrest Of INEC Chairman
The Federal High Court in Osogbo, Osun State, has ordered the Inspector General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun, to arrest the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) Chairman, Mahmoud Yakubu, for failing to comply with a previous court order.
According to Daily Sun, the order stems from a dispute involving the Action Alliance (AA) and INEC over the recognition of party leaders.
The court, presided over by Justice Funmilola Demi-Ajayi, found that Yakubu and INEC disobeyed an earlier judgment requiring the commission to recognize all state chairmen elected under Adekunle Rufai Omoaje’s leadership of AA’s National Executive Committee (NEC).
The Action Alliance had requested Forms 48 and 49 from INEC while seeking the chairman’s imprisonment for defying court directives.
Justice Demi-Ajayi also imposed a fine of N100,000 on the INEC chairman.
The court gave INEC and Yakubu seven days to restore the names of the Omoaje-led chairmen on the commission’s portal or face police action.
The ruling confirmed that the national convention that elected Omoaje and other NEC members at the Olusegun Obasanjo Presidential Library in Abeokuta was valid.
INEC officials monitored the convention, and it complied with the party constitution and the Electoral Act.
The court further directed INEC to stop recognizing Kenneth Udeze as AA National Chairman, declaring the convention that elected him invalid and ordering its cancellation.
INEC was instructed to replace Udeze’s name with Omoaje’s on its records immediately.
The judge also affirmed that Udeze, who had been suspended and later expelled from the party, has no authority to represent AA before INEC or authorize legal actions on behalf of the party.
The court criticized INEC for its inconsistent recognition of Udeze and ruled that any other party convention aside from the October 7, 2023, Abeokuta gathering is invalid.
