The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has dismissed reports alleging it disobeyed a Federal High Court order in Osogbo, Osun State, concerning the leadership tussle within the Action Alliance (AA) party.
Earlier in the week, some media outlets reported that the court had ordered the arrest of former INEC Chairman, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, for purportedly failing to comply with a judgment delivered on September 29, 2025. The judgment had reportedly affirmed the Rufai Omoaje-led faction of the AA and directed INEC to upload its executives on the commission’s portal.
But in a statement issued Friday by National Commissioner and Chairman of Information and Voter Education, Sam Olumekun, INEC described the reports as “misleading”, accusing some media platforms of deliberately leaving out key facts about its compliance efforts.
“Our attention has been drawn to reports suggesting that the Federal High Court in Osogbo ordered the arrest of the immediate past INEC Chairman. These reports mischievously omitted the commission’s subsequent actions and wrongly portrayed the issue as a personal matter involving Prof. Yakubu,” the statement read.
Olumekun explained that INEC had already taken lawful steps to comply with the judgment, filing necessary documents at the Federal High Court in Osogbo on October 6, 2025 — within the court’s stipulated timeframe. He added that the commission also provided evidence from its online dashboard showing recognition of the AA executives elected during the party’s convention in Abeokuta on October 7, 2023.
INEC, however, acknowledged that the judgment creditors filed a counter-affidavit, claiming that the commission only listed four national executives without including Omoaje as national chairman.
Responding to this, Olumekun said the commission attached a Notice of Appeal filed by Omoaje himself at the Supreme Court, challenging a Court of Appeal decision that had earlier removed him as AA’s chairman.
“The judgment of the Court of Appeal remains superior to that of the Federal High Court. Therefore, INEC cannot list Omoaje as the party’s chairman while the appellate court’s ruling stands,” the statement added.
Reiterating its commitment to the rule of law, INEC urged journalists to uphold professional ethics and verify their stories before publication to prevent misleading the public.
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