Barely hours after bowing out as Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof. Mahmoud Yakubu has been ordered arrested by the Federal High Court sitting in Osogbo, Osun State, for contempt of court.
The court, presided over by Justice Funmilola Demi-Ajayi, directed the Inspector General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun, to arrest and prosecute the former INEC boss for allegedly disobeying a subsisting judgment.
The order followed a motion filed by the Action Alliance (AA), which accused INEC and its former chairman of failing to fully comply with a judgment delivered in suit number FHC/OS/CS/194/2024.
In that ruling, the court had ordered INEC to recognize and upload the names of the party’s National Chairman, Adekunle Rufai Omoaje, and other members of its National Executive Committee (NEC) on the commission’s official portal.
Justice Demi-Ajayi had affirmed that the elective convention held on October 7, 2023 — which produced Omoaje as national chairman — was legitimate and properly supervised by INEC officials in line with the party’s constitution and the Electoral Act.
While INEC claimed to have complied with the directive, the Action Alliance maintained otherwise, insisting that Omoaje’s name was still missing on the commission’s website despite the court’s clear order.
Although the names of state chairmen and NEC members have since appeared on the INEC portal, the omission of Omoaje’s name drew the court’s ire, prompting the latest arrest order.
The new court order, dated October 7, 2025, and signed by O.M. Kilani on behalf of the Registrar, stated:
“It is hereby ordered that the Inspector General of Police shall cause the arrest and shall charge the defendant/judgment debtors for contempt and committal proceedings within seven days of this ruling.”
The court further awarded a cost of ₦100,000 against the judgment creditors.
Comments