The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has denied reports suggesting it defied a Federal High Court order in Osogbo, Osun State, relating to the leadership dispute within the Action Alliance (AA) party.
Earlier media accounts claimed that the court had ordered the arrest of the immediate past INEC Chairman, Professor Mahmood Yakubu, for allegedly failing to comply with a judgment delivered on 29 September 2025.
The judgment reportedly favoured the faction of AA led by Rufai Omoaje, validating the party’s elective convention held on 7 October 2023 in Abeokuta and directing INEC to upload the names of the newly elected national and state executives on its official portal.
In a statement on Friday, signed by the National Commissioner and Chairman of the Information and Voter Education Committee, Sam Olumekun, INEC described the reports as “misleading” and accused some media outlets of omitting critical details regarding the commission’s compliance.
“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. 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,” the statement read in part.
INEC said it had filed the relevant legal documents at the Federal High Court, Osogbo, on 6 October 2025, within the timeframe set by the court, and tendered evidence from its website dashboard showing recognition of the AA executive elected in Abeokuta.
Olumekun further explained that while a counter-affidavit claimed that INEC listed only four national executives without including the National Chairman, Rufai Omoaje, the commission had attached the Notice of Appeal filed by Omoaje at the Supreme Court challenging the Court of Appeal judgment that had sacked him.
“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 party while the judgment of the Appeal Court remains in force,” Olumekun stated.
INEC appealed to media organisations to ensure accurate reporting. “We urge media organisations to fact-check their reports before publication to avoid misleading the public,” the commission said.
