Court Clears INEC Chairman, Former APGA Chairman of Contempt

On Wednesday, Ustice Mohammed Madugu of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) High Court in Bwari revoked his previous ruling that found Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, the chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), and Victor Ike-Oye, the immediate former chairman of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), in contempt.

Otunba Camaru Ogidan and Alhaji Rabiu Mustapha, the applicants, requested that Justice Madugu revoke the order.

Recall that on November 9, 2023, the court found that Yakubu and Oye had disregarded his prior decision from May 10, 2023, which required them to acknowledge Chief Edozie Njoku as the National Chairman of the APGA, and therefore were found guilty of contempt of court.

On July 11, 2024, the INEC head, through his attorney Ahmed Mohammed, told the court that he had recognized Njoku as the National Chairman of the APGA, in accordance with the order.

However, Oye disregarded the ruling and filed an appeal, requesting a stay of the lower court’s order and delaying his scheduled sentencing, which the court subsequently rescheduled for January 22, 2025.

The top court recognized Sly Ezeokenwa as the National Chairman of the APGA in a ruling on November 27, 2024, prior to the rescheduled sentence date.

When the case was brought up for hearing on Wednesday, Michael Ajara, the applicants’ attorney, pointed out to the court the Supreme Court’s ruling on the topic from November 27, 2024, and stated that his clients had made the decision to drop the complaint.

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In a brief decision, the court dismissed the previous committal order, granted the application, and dismissed the matter.

“Being law-abiding, our clients have since expressed their willingness to abide by the Supreme Court judgment on the issue,” Ajara explained in reference to his clients’ stance.

They told us to withdraw this case because they didn’t see any reason to pursue it further, and we did just that.
The judge agreed with us after observing the rationale behind our actions.

Chief Njoku, who was present in court with a few high-ranking officials from his new party, the National Rescue Movement (NRM), praised Justice Madugu for the way he handled the matter.

He said the judge was a brave and hardworking guy who showed guts when it counted most.

According to Chief Njoku, who officially took over as the National Chairman of the NRM on Tuesday, the judge in this case displayed extraordinary bravery given the current state of affairs in Nigeria.

“We pray that God will be with him.” If he hadn’t been so brave, I might have ended up behind bars.

“We are grateful that our case was heard by a judge who possesses integrity, conscience, and the courage to act when called upon,” Njoku continued.