In a significant legal development, a Federal High Court in Osogbo, Osun State, has ordered the immediate arrest of Professor Mahmood Yakubu, the immediate past Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), citing contempt of court. The directive came only hours after Yakubu officially stepped down from his role as INEC chairman.
The court order was issued by Justice Funmilola Demi-Ajayi following a protracted legal dispute involving the Action Alliance (AA) party and the electoral commission. The crux of the case centers on INEC's alleged refusal to comply with a previous court judgment that mandated the commission to recognize and upload the name of Adekunle Rufai Omoaje as the National Chairman of the AA party, along with his National Executive Committee members, on the commission's official portal.
Justice Demi-Ajayi ruled that INEC and Yakubu flagrantly disobeyed the court's earlier directive, describing the non-compliance as contemptuous. The court not only ordered Yakubu's arrest but also imposed a fine of ₦100,000 on him personally. It further gave INEC a seven-day ultimatum to restore the names of all relevant state chairmen elected under Omoaje's leadership on its portal. Failure to abide by these orders would trigger the arrest of Yakubu by the Inspector-General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun, who was expressly directed to enforce the committal proceedings within that timeframe.
The judicial ruling also affirmed the legitimacy of the national convention held at the Olusegun Obasanjo Presidential Library in Abeokuta that produced Adekunle Omoaje as AAC National Chairman. The court found that the convention was monitored by INEC officials and held in full compliance with the party’s constitution as well as the Electoral Act.
Yakubu had earlier handed over the reins of INEC to National Commissioner Mrs. May Agbamuche-Mbu, who will serve as Acting Chairman pending the appointment of a substantive successor. The arrest order, however, has cast a shadow over the conclusion of Yakubu’s decade-long tenure as INEC chairman.
This case marks a rare occasion where a former INEC chairman faces such severe judicial consequences, bringing to the fore the tension between political parties, electoral bodies, and the judiciary in Nigeria's complex electoral landscape.