By Adenike Lawal
Staff of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), have been accused of evading the service of a court order directed at the Commission’s Chairman, Professor Mahmood Yakubu.
The allegation was made by Anselem Nebeife, National Publicity Secretary of the National Rescue Movement (NRM), in a statement issued Friday morning in Abuja.
Nebeife claimed that INEC officials deliberately refused to accept Form 48, a legal notice of potential contempt proceedings, despite a court directive.
According to Nebeife, Justice Obiora Egwuatu of the Federal High Court in Abuja had granted NRM’s request for substituted service after their lawyer, Oladimeji Ekengba, filed a motion ex parte citing difficulty in reaching Professor Yakubu directly.
The judge ordered that the document be served through any INEC official at the Commission’s national headquarters.
However, when court bailiff Ayuba Sule arrived to serve the document, he was allegedly met with resistance.
Sule first approached the INEC Chairman’s office, where staff confirmed his identity and reviewed the court papers but refused to accept them.
He was then redirected to the Legal Department.
At the Legal Department, a staff member reportedly examined the document and, upon realizing it was Form 48, refused to accept it, allegedly saying, “Can’t you see this is Form 48? Please, I love my job ooo.”
Sule, frustrated by the refusal, eventually placed the documents on the floor in front of the Legal Department and left.
Justice Egwuatu had previously warned that Form 48, which serves as a notice of possible contempt charges for disobeying court orders, could be lawfully served to any INEC staff member.
The case has been scheduled for hearing on July 15.
The contempt proceeding arises from INEC’s alleged failure to comply with a previous court judgment recognizing Chief Edozie Njoku as the authentic National Chairman of the NRM.
