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INEC CHAIRMAN SEEKS TO QUASH SOWORE’S SUBPOENA OVER TINUBU’S 1999, 2023 ELECTION DOCUMENTS
INEC CHAIRMAN SEEKS TO QUASH SOWORE’S SUBPOENA OVER TINUBU’S 1999, 2023 ELECTION DOCUMENTS
By @TheKELVINATOR, The Eyes Opener News | November 11, 2026
The Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Professor Joash Ojo Amupitan, SAN, has approached the Federal High Court in Abuja, seeking an order to set aside a subpoena compelling the electoral commission to produce documents relating to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s 1999 Lagos State governorship election and his 2023 presidential election.
In a Motion on Notice dated November 10, 2026, filed in Charge No. FHC/CR/484/2025, arising from the criminal case between the Federal Republic of Nigeria and activist and former presidential candidate, Omoyele Sowore, Amupitan is asking the court to nullify the subpoena duces tecum issued on October 26, 2026, and served on INEC Headquarters in Abuja on November 6, 2026.
The INEC Chairman, who is listed as the applicant in the motion, is seeking an order setting aside the subpoena, alongside any other orders the court may deem appropriate.
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In the grounds supporting the application, Amupitan’s legal team, led by Dr. Alex A. Izinyon, SAN, argued that the subpoena was fundamentally defective, describing it as void ab initio, contradictory and legally ungrantable.
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The application further contends that the subpoena was not personally served on the INEC Chairman, as required by law, despite being delivered to the commission’s headquarters through its Litigation and Prosecution Department.
A major point of contention concerns the specific documents Sowore reportedly seeks to obtain from INEC. These include the INEC Form CF01, alongside an affidavit relating to lost certificates, purportedly submitted by Tinubu as a candidate in the 1999 Lagos State governorship election, as well as his INEC Form CF01 for the 2023 presidential election.
According to the affidavit sworn to by Mendie Akpan, a litigation secretary in the law firm representing the INEC Chairman, the commission maintains that the forms described in the subpoena, particularly the alleged INEC CF01 relating to the 1999 Lagos governorship election, are unknown in the manner presented and are not in the applicant’s custody.
The affidavit also states that Amupitan was neither personally served with the subpoena on November 6 nor at any other time.
Furthermore, the INEC Chairman’s legal team argues that he was not a party to the criminal proceedings between the Federal Republic of Nigeria and Sowore and was not the maker of the documents being requested.
The application also questions the motive and relevance of the subpoena, alleging that it was brought in bad faith and could embarrass the electoral institution. It describes the request as speculative and irrelevant to the proceedings.
The affidavit, which recounts information reportedly received from the INEC Chairman during a telephone conference with his lawyers on November 10, maintains that he cannot be compelled to give evidence as the maker of documents he did not prepare.
The motion was brought pursuant to Section 6(6) of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, as amended.
The matter has placed the spotlight on the legal battle surrounding the subpoena and the requested electoral documents, particularly the records relating to Tinubu’s political contests in 1999 and 2023.
However, the application represents the position of the INEC Chairman and the arguments advanced by his lawyers. The court is yet to determine the motion, and the claims contained in the supporting affidavit remain allegations pending judicial consideration.
The central question now is whether the Federal High Court will uphold INEC Chairman Amupitan’s objections and set aside the subpoena or allow the process seeking the e lectoral documents to proceed.
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