INEC: We Have Complied with Court Order on Action Alliance

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has firmly stated that it has not broken the law, pushing back against what it calls “misleading” media reports about a court order for the arrest of its immediate past Chairman.

The commission found itself at the centre of a political storm following reports about a ruling from the Federal High Court in Oshogbo, Osun State, made 11 days ago on 29th September 2025.

The reports suggested the court had ordered the arrest of Professor Mahmood Yakubu for disobeying its judgement on a case involving the Action Alliance (AA) party.

However, in a press statement released on Friday, INEC explained the situation in detail, saying the news reports had left out important facts. The commission argued that the matter was wrongly portrayed as a personal affair of the former chairman, when it is actually a legal issue involving INEC as an organisation.

INEC explained that it has a long standing policy of obeying court orders. To prove this, the commission told the public that on Monday, 6th October 2025 – which was still within the deadline set by the court – it filed documents at the Federal High Court in Oshogbo.

These documents were meant to show that INEC had followed the court’s judgement. This judgement required INEC to recognise the Action Alliance’s party executives who were elected on 7th October 2023 in Abeokuta, Ogun State. As part of its evidence, INEC even showed the court its official website dashboard to prove it had updated the records.

The Problem of Two Courts

The situation became more complicated after INEC’s initial compliance. The people who had won the court case (the judgement creditors) complained that INEC had only done a partial job. They said the commission had listed only four national executives but left out the name of the National Chairman, Rufai Omoaje.

INEC’s response to this complaint reveals the core of the problem. The commission stated that it could not list Mr. Omoaje as chairman because of a separate, and more powerful, judgement from the Court of Appeal. This higher court had already removed Mr. Omoaje from his position.

INEC explained that it was faced with two conflicting court decisions. The Federal High Court said to list him, but the Court of Appeal, whose rulings are superior, had sacked him. Furthermore, Mr. Omoaje himself has appealed this sacking to the Supreme Court, and that case is still ongoing.

Because of this, INEC said it was legally impossible to recognise him as the party chairman. A judgement from the Court of Appeal must take priority over one from a Federal High Court.

Sam Olumekun, a National Commissioner and Chairman of INEC’s Information Committee, ended the statement by appealing to media organisations. He urged them to fact-check their reports thoroughly before publication to avoid giving the public the wrong information.