The Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof Joash Amupitan, has challenged a court order compelling him to produce President Bola Tinubu's electoral documents in the ongoing trial of human rights activist, Omoyele Sowore.
Amupitan, in a motion dated November 10, 2026, asked the Federal High Court in Abuja to set aside the subpoena, arguing that the documents sought by the activist were not in his custody and were unknown to him in the form described.
The challenge came on Wednesday as proceedings in the case were stalled following the absence of the presiding judge, Justice Mohammed Garba Umar, who was reportedly indisposed.
Start tomorrow informed
Save your place for the morning brief. We’ll start emailing when delivery goes live.
Free. Confirm by email. Unsubscribe anytime.
The court registrar informed parties that the judge would not sit, forcing the adjournment of the hearing.
Amupitan, who was listed as a defence witness alongside former Lagos State Publicity Secretary of the All Progressives Congress, Joe Igbokwe, also failed to appear in court.
In his application, the INEC chairman described the subpoena as speculative, irrelevant and issued in bad faith, alleging that it was designed to embarrass the electoral commission.
He also argued that he was not personally served with the court order, although it was delivered to INEC's headquarters on November 6.
The subpoena, issued on October 26 in Charge No. FHC/CR/484/2025, directed Amupitan to produce documents relating to Tinubu's electoral records and testify in the case instituted against Sowore by the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
The documents sought include Tinubu's Form CF001 and affidavit of loss of certificates submitted to INEC during his 1999 Lagos State governorship election, as well as the Form CF001 submitted for the 2023 presidential election.
Sowore is standing trial over his description of Tinubu as a criminal, a remark that led to his prosecution by the Federal Government.
Meanwhile, Wednesday's proceedings were overshadowed by allegations that some of Sowore's supporters damaged the vehicle of a journalist with Leadership newspaper, Olakunle Olasanmi, during a confrontation outside the court.
The journalist's Toyota Venza reportedly had its windscreen shattered after supporters allegedly surrounded the vehicle as he attempted to access an extension of the court's car park.
A former Chairman of the National Association of Judiciary Correspondents, Kayode Lawal, confirmed the incident to colleagues, alleging that Sowore's supporters had gone on a rampage and damaged the vehicle.
Olasanmi reportedly confronted Sowore after the activist emerged from the courtroom, with the latter initially promising to take responsibility for the damage.
However, the journalist's colleagues alleged that Sowore later reneged on the promise.
Another journalist, Celestina Iria, also recounted a separate confrontation involving Sowore and a TVC cameraman covering the proceedings.
Iria alleged that Sowore accused the cameraman of having prior knowledge of a court ruling when he attempted to record proceedings and subsequently shared videos of the encounter on his social media account.
She also referred to an incident on Monday in which Sowore allegedly accused the cameraman of pretending to record him despite the camera lens being closed.
The case was adjourned until November 17, 2026, for continuation of trial.
Discussion0