Court has ordered for the arrest of INEC Chairman Mahmoud Yakubu over contempt.
NewsOnline Nigeria reports that the Federal High Court in Osogbo, Osun State, has ordered the Inspector-General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun, to arrest the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof. Mahmoud Yakubu, for contempt and disobedience of court orders.
The ruling followed a suit filed by the Action Alliance (AA), which sought to compel INEC to recognise state chairmen elected under the leadership of Adekunle Rufai Omoaje’s National Executive Committee.
ALSO: El-Rufai Accuses Tinubu Of Plotting ‘President-for-Life’ Rule, Worse Than Military Dictatorship
Justice Funmilola Demi-Ajayi, who presided over the case, expressed strong displeasure with INEC’s failure to comply with earlier directives that favoured the Action Alliance. The court had previously ruled that INEC must recognise the state chairmen elected under Omoaje’s leadership, but the commission failed to act accordingly.
As a result, the judge awarded a cost of ₦100,000 against Prof. Yakubu and gave him seven days to restore the names of the affected chairmen to INEC’s official portal. The court warned that failure to comply within the deadline would result in his immediate arrest by the police.
The court further affirmed the validity of the national convention that produced Omoaje as National Chairman of the Action Alliance, stressing that it was properly conducted in line with the Electoral Act and duly monitored by INEC officials.
