BREAKING: IGP Ordered to Arrest INEC Chairman over Contempt of Court

The Federal High Court in Osogbo, Osun State, has directed the Inspector-General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun, to arrest the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Professor Mahmood Yakubu, for contempt and failure to obey court orders.

The ruling follows a suit filed by the Action Alliance against INEC. The party had approached the court seeking a directive compelling INEC to recognise all state chairmen elected under the leadership of Adekunle Rufai Omoaje’s National Executive Committee.

Earlier, the court ruled in favour of the Action Alliance and ordered INEC to recognise these state chairmen. However, INEC did not comply, prompting the contempt proceedings.

Presiding judge Justice Funmilola Demi-Ajayi expressed dissatisfaction with INEC’s non-compliance. The court imposed a fine of N100,000 on the INEC chairman and gave him seven days to restore the names of all state chairmen elected under Omoaje’s leadership to the commission’s portal.

The court warned that failure to comply within the stipulated timeframe would result in the arrest of Professor Yakubu by the police.

The decision reaffirms the validity of the national convention that produced Omoaje as the National Chairman of the Action Alliance. The court noted that the convention was properly monitored by INEC officials and conducted in accordance with the party’s constitution and the Electoral Act.