The Federal High Court in Abuja has ordered the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to publish Oladipupo Adebutu’s name as the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate for the 2027 Ogun State governorship election within 24 hours.
Justice Peter Lifu gave the order on Friday while delivering judgment in a suit filed by Adebutu and the PDP against INEC.
The judge held that the electoral commission lacked the authority to unilaterally remove the name of a duly nominated candidate from an election list.
He ruled that INEC’s decision to remove Adebutu’s name was unconstitutional, unlawful and of no effect.
Justice Lifu further held that only the Federal High Court or a state High Court had the authority to declare a candidate invalid, not the electoral commission.
The judge also ruled that INEC violated Adebutu’s right to fair hearing by removing his name without following due process.
He consequently dismissed the preliminary objection filed by INEC and declared the suit competent.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the PDP and Adebutu instituted the suit on October 22 following the removal of his name from the list of candidates for the Ogun governorship election.
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The plaintiffs sued INEC as the sole defendant in the suit filed through their lawyer, Ahmed Raji, SAN.
They raised six questions for determination and sought 11 reliefs from the court.
Among other demands, they asked the court to set aside INEC’s decision to omit, remove or refuse to publish Adebutu’s name in the final list of candidates released on October 10.
They argued that the commission’s action violated their right to fair hearing and contravened Sections 29 and 32 of the Electoral Act, 2026.
The plaintiffs also sought an order compelling INEC to publish Adebutu’s name as the PDP governorship candidate for Ogun State within 24 hours of the court’s judgment, ahead of the 2027 general election.
