Tinubu's election information: 'Documents don’t exist as described,’ INEC tells court docket

The Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, has approached the Federal High Court in Abuja, searching for to invalidate a subpoena directing it to launch paperwork regarding President Bola Tinubu’s 1999 Lagos State governorship election and his 2023 presidential election.

INEC Chairman, Professor Joash Amupitan, SAN, filed the applying difficult the subpoena, which was issued on November 6 in the course of the ongoing cyberbullying trial of African Action Congress, AAC, presidential candidate, Omoyele Sowore.

Through his counsel, Alex Izinyon, SAN, Amupitan is asking the court docket to declare the subpoena “void, unenforceable and contradictory.”

The fee additional questioned the relevance of the subpoena to the felony proceedings in opposition to Sowore, alleging that the request was made in dangerous religion.

One of the grounds contained within the utility reads: “The subpoena Duces Tecum dated 6/11/2026 as constituted is void ab initio, ungrantable, inconsistent and contradictory.”

The paperwork being sought by Sowore’s authorized staff embody “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.”

However, Amupitan insisted that INEC doesn’t have the requested information in its possession.

“No document known as INEC CF01 for the 1999 Lagos State Governorship Election or INEC Form CF01 for the 2023 Presidential Election exists as described, and such documents are not in the Applicant’s custody,” the applying acknowledged.

In an affidavit filed in help of the movement on discover, the electoral fee described the subpoena as “bad faith, irrelevant, fishy and speculative.”

INEC’s authorized representatives additionally alleged that the request was designed to embarrass the fee, arguing that the paperwork sought had no direct bearing on the felony allegations in opposition to Sowore.

The supporting affidavit pressured that the case was strictly between the Federal Republic of Nigeria and the AAC presidential candidate.

It acknowledged that “there is a criminal prosecution between the Federal Republic of Nigeria as the Complainant and Omoyele Sowore as Defendant.”

The affidavit additional famous that “the Applicant (INEC Chairman) is not a party to the criminal prosecutions.”

Meanwhile, Justice Mohammed Umar has mounted November 17 for the continuation of Sowore’s cyberbullying trial.

The proceedings scheduled for Wednesday on the Federal High Court in Abuja couldn’t maintain after the presiding choose was reportedly absent resulting from chilly.

In a associated growth, the court docket had on Monday authorized one other subpoena utility by Sowore’s defence staff, directing All Progressives Congress, APC, chieftain Joe Igbokwe to look as a defence witness.

Sowore’s legal professionals intend to query Igbokwe over his public feedback and reactions to the activist’s social media publications, significantly posts through which the AAC presidential candidate described President Tinubu as a felony.