The Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission, Professor Joash Ojo Amupitan, SAN, has asked the Federal High Court in Abuja to overturn an order directing the electoral body to release documents connected to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s 1999 Lagos State governorship election and his 2023 presidential bid.
Details contained in court filings obtained on November 10, 2026, revealed that Amupitan, through his legal representatives, submitted a Motion on Notice dated the same day, seeking to invalidate a subpoena issued on October 26, 2026. The order was made in connection with the ongoing criminal proceedings involving human rights activist and African Action Congress (AAC) presidential candidate, Omoyele Sowore.
The case, identified as Charge No. FHC/CR/484/2025, is between the Federal Republic of Nigeria and Sowore and is being presided over by Justice Mohammed Garba Umar of the Federal High Court, Abuja. The activist is facing prosecution over remarks in which he referred to President Tinubu as a criminal.
Under the subpoena, INEC was instructed to provide Tinubu’s Form CF001 submitted during his 1999 Lagos State governorship campaign, alongside the affidavit concerning certificates reportedly declared lost. The commission was also directed to produce the corresponding Form CF001, or an equivalent document, submitted by the President in connection with his 2023 presidential election.
The court records further indicated that the subpoena was delivered to INEC’s Litigation and Prosecution Department at the commission’s headquarters in Abuja on November 6, 2026, at about 12:30 p.m.
Rather than comply with the directive, however, the INEC chairman has approached the court to contest its legality and seek its cancellation.
In the motion filed by his counsel, Dr Alex A. Izinyon, SAN, Amupitan urged the court to pronounce the subpoena invalid, unenforceable and contradictory. He maintained that the procedure adopted in issuing and serving the order was legally defective.
Among the grounds advanced by the INEC chairman is the allegation that the subpoena was not personally served on him, despite the requirement for personal service under the applicable law. His legal team also questioned the accuracy of the descriptions of the requested records, arguing that some of the documents either do not exist in the specified form or have been improperly identified.
Furthermore, INEC’s legal representatives argued that the materials sought by the subpoena have no relevant connection to the criminal case against Sowore. They also alleged that the order was obtained in bad faith, raising questions about its propriety and legal basis.
The court is expected to consider the application challenging the subpoena as the legal dispute over the requested electoral records continues.
