‘Reinstate Adebutu as Ogun PDP Governorship Candidate Within 24 Hours,’ Court Orders INEC

The Federal High Court sitting in Abuja has ordered the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to reinstate Ladi Adebutu as the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) governorship candidate for the forthcoming Ogun State governorship election.

In a judgment delivered by Justice Peter Lifu, the court held that INEC lacked the authority to remove a candidate sponsored by a political party without a court order, stressing that only a competent court could determine the validity of a candidate’s nomination.

The judge specifically stated that the Federal High Court or the Ogun State High Court had the jurisdiction to declare a candidate’s nomination invalid, not the electoral commission.

Justice Lifu also ruled that INEC violated Adebutu’s right to fair hearing and directed the commission to immediately restore his name to the final list of candidates and publish the revised list within 24 hours.

The court further held that the PDP had established beyond reasonable doubt that Adebutu was a duly registered member of the party in Ogun State.

Questioning INEC’s authority over the party’s membership records, the judge challenged the commission’s basis for determining who was a registered member of the PDP, asking whether it had become the custodian of the party’s membership register.

The judge also faulted INEC for failing to provide evidence that the flash drive submitted by the PDP had been tampered with, rejecting the commission’s position in the dispute.