Follow Us on Google
From Godwin Tsa Abuja
A Federal High Court Judge, Justice Obiora Egwuatu, has berated the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) over its habitual disobedience of the orders of court.
Justice Egwuatu sitting in the Abuja Division of the court decried the disposition of the electoral umpire towards valid judgments of the court, while advising INEC’s lawyers to always give proper counselling to the commission and its leadership.
The judge noted that disobedience to court judgments reduces the integrity of the court and makes a mockery of the rule of law.
The judge made the remarks shortly after he declined jurisdiction in the contempt proceedings initiated by the leadership of the National Rescue Movement (NRM) against the Chairman of the commission, Prof. Joash Amupitan, a senior advocate.
The court had last week adjourned to March 10, to enable the INEC boss to appear before it to purge himself of contempt, in respect of an order regarding the leadership of the National Rescue Movement (NRM).
The adjournment was in response to a request by INEC’s counsel, Muktar Bawa, who had assured that Amupitan would physically appear in court to purge himself of contempt charges against him. The court, however, did not sit on March 10, and the matter was adjourned to March 13. When the matter was called, the INEC boss was not in court and his team of lawyers led by Suleiman Ibrahim, a senior advocate, challenged the jurisdiction of the court to hear the matter on the grounds that the alleged contempt was not committed in the face of the court.
He argued that contrary to the submission of INEC’s lawyer, civil contempt is different from criminal contempt, adding, “This is a case of disobedience of court order not an action personal to the judge.”
However, in his ruling Justice Egwuatu declined jurisdiction and ordered the return of the case file to the Chief Judge of the Federal High Court, Justice John Tsoho, for reassignment to another judge, who would try the INEC boss on alleged disobedience of the order of the court.
Reacting to the development, the National Rescue Movement said the most significant development was the court’s strong rebuke of INEC over what it described as its persistent disposition toward disobedience of court orders.
The party in a statement by its National Publicity Secretary, Chinedu Nebeife, noted that the court’s remarks left no doubt that the conduct of the Commission in relation to the January 16, 2025 order and judgment of March 5, 2025 had raised serious concerns within the judiciary itself.
“For the record, today’s court proceedings have further reinforced the validity and legality of the order of January 16, 2025. The judgment of March 5, 2025, remains operative and fully enforceable.
“Equally important is the fact that the contempt proceedings remain firmly on course as the matter will now proceed before another judge of the Federal High Court who will focus squarely on the central issue before the court: whether a public institution established under the Constitution can continue to disregard the lawful orders of a competent court.
“In the light of the foregoing therefore, it is important to note that this is no longer merely a dispute involving one political party and a public institution. It has now become a fundamental test of whether the rule of law will prevail in the governance of our democratic system.
