The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has dismissed reports claiming that a Federal High Court in Osogbo, Osun State, ordered the arrest of its former chairman, Professor Mahmood Yakubu.
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The commission described the reports as misleading and accused some media outlets of twisting the court’s earlier pronouncement.
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INEC said the reports wrongly suggested that a fresh order was issued against Yakubu, when in fact, the matter concerned the commission as a corporate body. The clarification was contained in a statement by the National Commissioner and Chairman of the Information and Voter Education Committee, Sam Olumekun, who explained that INEC had already acted in compliance with the court’s judgement.
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The commission stated that following the court’s ruling on September 29, it filed all necessary legal processes within the given deadline. It said the documents were submitted to the Federal High Court in Osogbo on October 6 to prove compliance with the order recognising the Action Alliance (AA) executive elected on October 7, 2023, in Abeokuta, Ogun State.
According to INEC, evidence of compliance was presented through its official website, which showed that the recognised executives had been listed. However, the commission said the judgment creditors later filed a counter affidavit, claiming that INEC only recognised four officials and omitted the name of the party’s National Chairman, Rufai Omoaje.
In response, INEC explained that it withheld Omoaje’s name because he had already appealed a separate Court of Appeal judgment that removed him as the party’s chairman. The commission argued that the appeal remains pending before the Supreme Court, and since the appellate court’s decision is superior to that of the Federal High Court, it could not act contrary to the higher court’s ruling.
INEC insisted that it has maintained its established practice of obeying all valid court orders and will continue to do so. It added that reports suggesting otherwise were false and intended to create confusion about the commission’s conduct in handling the Action Alliance case.
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