The Federal High Court in Abuja on Friday ordered the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to publish Oladipupo Adebutu’s name as the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP)’s candidate for the 2027 Ogun governorship election within 24 hours.
In a judgment, Justice Peter Lifu held that INEC had no power to unilaterally remove the name of a validly nominated candidate by a political party. Justice Lifu held that the commission’s action was unconstitutional, unlawful and of no effect. Justice Lifu said only the Federal High Court or the state’s high court has the power to declare a candidate invalid, not the commission. He held that INEC breached Adebutu’s right to fair hearing.
The judge, who dismissed INEC’s preliminary objection, declared that the suit was competent. The PDP and Adebutu filed the suit on Oct. 22, after Adebutu’s name was removed from the list of contestants for the governorship seat in Ogun. The plaintiffs sued INEC as the sole defendant, through their lawyer, Ahmed Raji, SAN.
The plaintiffs, who sought six questions for determination, prayed the court for 11 reliefs. They sought an order setting aside the commission’s decision to omit, remove or refuse to publish Adebutu’s name in the final list of candidates published on Oct. 10 for denial of fair hearing and violation of the provisions of Section 29 and Section 32 of the Electoral Act, 2026. They also sought an order directing or compelling “the defendant to, within twenty-four (24) hours of the order/orders of this honourable court, include and/or publish the name of the 2nd plaintiff as the 1st plaintiff’s governorship candidate for Ogun State in the forthcoming 2027 General Election,” among other reliefs.
