The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has denied media reports alleging that it disobeyed a Federal High Court order in Osogbo, Osun State, relating to the leadership crisis within the Action Alliance (AA).
Reports earlier in the week had claimed that the court ordered the arrest of former INEC Chairman, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, for allegedly failing to comply with a judgment delivered on September 29, 2025, which directed the commission to recognise the Rufai Omoaje-led faction of the Action Alliance.
In a statement signed by the National Commissioner and Chairman of the Information and Voter Education Committee, Sam Olumekun, on Friday, October 10, INEC described the reports as “misleading” and accused some media outlets of omitting key facts about its actions following the judgment.
“Our attention has been drawn to some media reports about an order made by the Federal High Court, Osogbo, Osun State, 11 days ago — on 29 September 2025, for the arrest of the immediate past INEC Chairman, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, for purportedly disobeying its judgment in a case involving the Action Alliance party,” Olumekun said.
“But the misleading reports mischievously omitted the commission’s subsequent action on the case, erroneously portrayed the matter involving a corporate entity, namely INEC, as an individual affair, and gave the wrong impression that the court issued a fresh order after its initial pronouncement.”
INEC clarified that it had already taken steps to comply with the court’s judgment, filing relevant legal documents at the Federal High Court, Osogbo, on October 6, 2025, still within the timeframe set by the court.
According to the statement, the commission also provided evidence from its website dashboard, showing that it had recognised the Action Alliance executive elected on October 7, 2023, in Abeokuta, Ogun State.
“In line with its long-established tradition of always obeying court judgments and orders, the commission, on Monday, 6 October 2025, which was still within the deadline, filed processes at the Federal High Court, Osogbo, to show that we had complied with its judgment and order recognising the Action Alliance executive elected on 7 October 2023 at Abeokuta,” the statement noted.
INEC Cites Conflicting Court Judgments
However, INEC acknowledged that a counter-affidavit had been filed by the judgment creditors, claiming that the commission only listed four national executives without including the National Chairman, Rufai Omoaje.
Olumekun explained that the commission’s decision was guided by a subsisting judgment of the Court of Appeal, which had earlier sacked Omoaje as the National Chairman of the Action Alliance.
“When the judgment creditors complained that the commission partially complied, we responded by attaching the Notice of Appeal filed by the same Omoaje at the Supreme Court, challenging the judgment of the Court of Appeal which removed him as chairman,” he clarified.
“The judgment of the Court of Appeal is superior to that of the Federal High Court. Hence, the commission cannot list Omoaje’s name as the chairman of the Action Alliance while the judgment of the Appeal Court remains in force.”
The electoral commission appealed to media organisations to verify information before publication, warning that misleading reports could distort public understanding of legal proceedings and undermine confidence in democratic institutions.
“We urge media organisations to fact-check their reports before publication to avoid misleading the public,” INEC stated.
Naijaonpoint reports that the leadership crisis in the Action Alliance has persisted since 2023, amid parallel conventions and multiple court rulings that have affirmed different factions.
While the Federal High Court in Osogbo recently ruled in favour of the Omoaje faction, the Court of Appeal’s earlier decision removing him as chairman remains legally binding, creating a jurisdictional conflict that INEC says it must respect until resolved by the Supreme Court.
INEC maintained that it remains committed to upholding the rule of law and complying with valid court judgments in all political party disputes.
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