A federal High Court sitting in Osogbo, Osun State, on Wednesday issued a fresh order to the Inspector General of Police (IGP), Kayode Egbetokun, to arrest the immediate past chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof Mahmood Yakubu, for contempt of court.
To deepen his woes, the National Secretary of the Coalition of United Political Parties (CUPP), Peter Ameh, accused Yakubu of damaging Nigeria’s multi-party democracy during his 10-year tenure at the commission, while the Executive Director of Yiaga Africa, Samson Itodo, said he left behind a weak electoral commission despite introducing significant reforms. The Action Alliance (AA) had instituted a case before the Osogbo court challenging INEC and Yakubu over the commission’s non-compliance with the judgment 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 AA, Adekunle Omoaje, and other members of the party’s National Executive Committee (NEC) on the INEC portal. It held that the elective convention of AA on October 7, 2023, which resulted in Omoaje being elected as national chairman and other NEC members, was authentic, as it was properly monitored and supervised by officials of INEC in accordance with the party’s constitution and the Electoral Act.
Although INEC claimed to have complied with the court judgment, the party disagreed with the commission, as the name of Omoaje had yet to be uploaded on the commission’s website.
, Kayode Egbetokun, to arrest the immediate past chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof Mahmood Yakubu, for contempt of court.){kind=link}