The Independent National Electoral Commission has asked a Federal High Court in Abuja to set aside a subpoena requiring it to produce nomination documents linked to President Bola Tinubu’s 1999 Lagos State governorship bid and his 2023 presidential candidacy.
INEC Chairman Professor Joash Amupitan, SAN, filed the application through counsel Alex Izinyon, SAN, seeking a declaration that the subpoena is void, unenforceable and contradictory. The subpoena was issued on October 26 in the ongoing cyberbullying trial of African Action Congress presidential candidate Omoyele Sowore.
According to the application, the subpoena was not personally served on the INEC chairman as required by law. It also contends that the documents sought are either incorrectly described or do not exist in the form specified. INEC maintains that the commission does not have the requested materials in its custody.
The documents Sowore’s defence team wants produced are described as “INEC Form CF01 (inclusive of the ‘AFFIDAVIT IN RESPECT OF LOST CERTIFICATES’) of candidate Bola Ahmed Tinubu as candidate for Lagos State Governorship in the Year 1999” and “INEC Form CF01 of His Excellency, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu as candidate for the 2023 Presidential election.”
INEC’s lawyers argue that no form known as INEC CF01 exists for the 1999 Lagos governorship election or the 2023 presidential election in the terms described, and that such forms are not in the commission’s custody. They further contend that the subpoena is irrelevant to the criminal proceedings against Sowore, was issued in bad faith, and is intended to embarrass the electoral body.
An affidavit supporting the motion states that the subpoena is “bad faith, irrelevant, fishy and speculative.” It notes that the criminal case is between the Federal Republic of Nigeria as complainant and Omoyele Sowore as defendant, and that the INEC chairman is not a party to the prosecution.
Justice Mohammed Umar has fixed November 17 for continuation of the trial. Wednesday’s proceedings were stalled by the judge’s absence due to a cold.
Separately, the court on Monday granted Sowore’s defence an application for a subpoena compelling All Progressives Congress chieftain Joe Igbokwe to appear as a defence witness. The defence intends to cross-examine him over public statements made in response to Sowore’s social media posts referring to President Tinubu as a criminal.
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