A Federal High Court sitting in Osogbo, Osun State, has issued a fresh order directing the Inspector General of Police (IGP), Kayode Egbetokun, to arrest the immediate past chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof Mahmood Yakubu, for contempt of court.
To worsen his situation, the National Secretary of the Coalition of United Political Parties (CUPP), Peter Ameh, accused Yakubu of weakening Nigeria’s multi-party democracy during his 10-year leadership at the commission. Similarly, the Executive Director of Yiaga Africa, Samson Itodo, said Yakubu left behind a fragile electoral institution despite introducing significant reforms.
Meanwhile, the Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria (HURIWA) cautioned President Bola Tinubu against appointing a political loyalist as Yakubu’s successor, warning that such an action could undermine Nigeria’s electoral progress and threaten the 2027 general elections.
The Action Alliance (AA) had filed a case before the Osogbo court against INEC and Yakubu over alleged non-compliance with a judgment delivered by Justice Funmilola Demi-Ajayi in suit number FHC/OS/CS/194/2024.
In that judgment, the court ordered INEC to upload the names of the National Chairman of AA, Adekunle Omoaje, and other members of the party’s National Executive Committee (NEC) on its official portal.
It ruled that the party’s elective convention held on October 7, 2023, which produced Omoaje as chairman and other NEC members, was validly conducted and duly monitored by INEC in line with the party’s constitution and the Electoral Act.
Although INEC claimed compliance with the ruling, the party disagreed, stating that Omoaje’s name was still missing from the commission’s website.
The latest court order, signed by Mr. O.M. Kilani on behalf of the Court Registrar, stated: “It is hereby ordered that the IGP shall cause the arrest and shall charge the defendant/judgment debtors for contempt and committal proceedings within seven days of this ruling.” The court also awarded ₦100,000 in costs against the judgment creditors.
Speaking on Channels Television’s Sunrise Daily yesterday, Ameh alleged that Yakubu’s tenure was marked by high-handedness, disregard for opposition parties, and a lack of transparency in the electoral process.
Ameh said: “Under Yakubu, the opposition suffered. He was not accommodating when it came to opposition or multi-party democracy; all he wanted was to crush it. The high-handedness was much.”
He added that Yakubu failed to build institutional capacity within INEC, describing the commission as elitist and detached from its primary mandate. Ameh further faulted Yakubu’s handling of electoral cycles, claiming his administration eroded public confidence.
“The conduct of the 2023 general elections is a bitter taste in everybody’s mouth; that is what he will be remembered for,” he said, criticising the former INEC chairman for not taking responsibility after the 2023 poll glitches.
Yakubu has since handed over leadership of the commission to its most senior National Commissioner, May Agbamuche-Mbu, who now serves as Acting National Chairman.
On Channels Television’s breakfast programme, The Morning Brief, Itodo acknowledged Yakubu’s reforms but said political interference weakened INEC’s independence.
“You cannot wish away that Yakubu introduced remarkable reforms. We are yet, as a country, to maximise the utility and potential of those reforms because of the actions of our politicians,” he said. “But I think that one thing that he leaves behind, to a large extent, is a weak INEC; weak to the extent that there is a lot of political interference with the functions of INEC.”
HURIWA, however, praised Yakubu’s decade-long leadership as institutionally progressive, citing the introduction of the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) and the INEC Result Viewing portal (IReV) as landmark innovations that advanced transparency and reduced manipulation in elections.
In a statement by its National Coordinator, Emmanuel Onwubiko, the group urged President Tinubu to ensure a transparent, merit-based appointment process for the new INEC chairman.
It also called on civil society, the media, and international partners to remain vigilant and push for stronger legal frameworks that protect INEC’s independence and prevent executive interference in its leadership.
