Justice Obiora Egwuatu of a Federal High Court, Abuja, on Friday berated the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) over its habitual disobedience of the orders of court.
Justice Egwuatu, who decried the disposition of the electoral umpire towards valid judgements of the court, advised INEC’s lawyers to give proper counselling to the commission and its leadership.
The judge made the remarks, shortly after he declined jurisdiction in a contempt proceedings initiated against the Chairman of the commission, Prof. Joash Amupitan, SAN.
It would be recalled that the court had last week adjourned to March 10, to enable the INEC boss to appear before it to purge himself of contempt charge, in respect of an order regarding the leadership of the National Rescue Movement (NRM).
The adjournment was following a request by INEC’s counsel, Muktar Bawa, who had assured that Amupitan would physically appear in court to purge himself of contempt charges against him.
The court however did not sit on March 10, and the matter adjourned to March 13.
When the matter was called, the INEC boss was not in court and his team of lawyers led by Suleiman Ibrahim, SAN, challenged the jurisdiction of the court to hear the matter, on the grounds that the alleged contempt was not committed in the face of the court.
He therefore urged the court to decline jurisdiction.
However, this request was opposed by counsel to NRM, Oladimeji Ekengba, who urged the court to punish the alleged contemnor in his absence.
He argued that contrary to the submission of INEC’s lawyer, civil contempt is different from criminal contempt, adding that, “this is a case of disobedience of court order not an action personal to the judge.”
However, in his ruling Justice Egwuatu declined jurisdiction and ordered the return of the case file to the Chief Judge of the Federal High Court, Justice John Tsoho, for reassignment to another judge, who would now try the INEC boss on alleged disobedience of the order of the court.
Justice Egwuatu had in a judgment delivered on March 5, 2025 in Suit No. FHC/ABJ/CS/45/2025, ordered INEC to recognise the Edozie Njoku-led committee as the national leadership of the NRM.
However, following refusal of the commission to obey the order of the court, the NRM subsequently initiated contempt proceedings against the then INEC chairman, Prof Mahmoud Yakubu, by the filing of Forms 48 and 49.
At the proceedings of July last year, Justice Egwuatu held that a contempt proceeding is a criminal charge, which requires that the contemnor must be present in court.
Meanwhile, NRM’s National Publicity Secretary, Chinedu Anselem Nebeife, stated that the court’s remarks leave no doubt that the conduct of the INEC in relation to the January 16, 2025 order and judgment of March 5, 2025 has raised serious concerns within the judiciary itself.
“For the records, today’s court proceedings further reinforced the validity and legality of the order of January 16, 2025 and judgment of March 5, 2025, and remains operative and fully enforceable.
“Equally important is the fact that the contempt proceedings remain firmly on course, as the matter will now proceed before another judge of the Federal High Court who will focus squarely on the central issue before the court: whether a public institution established under the constitution can continue to disregard the lawful orders of a competent court.
“In the light of the foregoing therefore, it is important to note that this is no longer merely a dispute involving one political party and a public institution. It has now become a fundamental test of whether the rule of law will prevail in the governance of our democratic system,” he said in a statement issued to journalists Friday.
The publicity secretary stressed that in every constitutional democracy, the authority of the courts stands above administrative convenience and institutional arrogance.
According to him, court judgements are not advisory opinions that government agencies may obey at their discretion.
“They are binding commands issued in the name of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, and respect for them is the cornerstone of the rule of law.
“It is therefore deeply troubling that the INEC — an institution entrusted with the sacred responsibility of safeguarding Nigeria’s democratic process — has repeatedly found itself accused of treating the orders of the courts with utter disregard and disdain. No democratic system can function properly if the very institutions charged with upholding the law appear reluctant to submit themselves to its authority,” he said.
Nebeife added that the NRM fully welcomes the firm continuation of the proceedings and looks forward to the prompt reassignment of the matter by the CJ, so that the court may proceed expeditiously to address the substantive issue before it.
“We wish to assure our members and supporters across the country that today’s proceedings have further strengthened our case and clarified the direction of this struggle. More importantly, the court’s clear reprimand of INEC has once again brought national attention to the troubling pattern of disregard for judicial authority that lies at the heart of this matter.
“We therefore call on our members, supporters, and all Nigerians who believe in constitutional governance to remain calm, confident, and resolute.
Alex Enumah
