The Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Professor Joash Amupitan, SAN, has been ordered to appear before the Federal High Court in Abuja on March 10, 2026, to answer to contempt of court charges.
The summons follows the commission’s alleged refusal to comply with a court order issued on March 5, 2025, which directed INEC to recognize the Chief Edozie Njoku-led executive as the rightful leadership of the National Rescue Mission (NRM).
Justice Obiora Egwuatu issued the directive during Wednesday’s proceedings after the INEC Chairman failed to appear in court.
While INEC’s counsel, M.S. Bawa, sought an adjournment by citing an emergency, the judge moved forward with the summons. NRM’s lead counsel, Oladimeji Ekengba, argued that contempt is a quasi-criminal matter that requires the defendant to be present in the dock.
The legal dispute involves a mandamus order from over a year ago that compelled INEC to accept the results of the NRM’s January 2025 convention. Due to previous difficulties in serving the Chairman personally, the court had earlier approved substituted service of Form 48—the formal notice of consequences for disobedience, allowing the document to be delivered to any staff member at the INEC national headquarters.
NRM officials expressed confidence that INEC would comply and recognize their leadership. INEC has not issued a public statement on the matter.
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