By Simbo Olorunfemi
Whatever the merits of the case in the matter between the Youth Party and INEC, which resulted in the judgement by Justice Mohammed Umar ruling that some portions of the INEC Guidelines and Schedule are inconsistent with the provisions of the Electoral Act, 2026, there are questions around the circumstances under which the suit was filed and judgement delivered that leaves one wondering.
Who filed the suit?
Was the person so authorised to do so?
How did this matter, said to have been filed since March 11, 2026, manage to not to make it to the News?
Were there hearings between March and May in this matter, and no-one got wind of it?
Yet, judgement was delivered on May 20th and by 21st May, the CTC of the Judgement Order was already available.
Somehow, the media, which had no idea of the matter, by May 22nd, was awash with the judgement, with electronic copies of the order making the rounds, in what was apparently a coordinated action?
Who sent out the judgement order? The Lawyer? The Plaintiff?
Curiously, this appears to have been one of those judgements that the media didn’t make it to the Court to witness and interview the Counsels in the matter?
I am curious – Who is Sarafa Yusuf, the Lawyer listed to have represented INEC in this matter? What was the argument he adduced in this case?
In this age of copy and paste journalism, it is no surprise that these questions might not have been of strong consideration on the minds of media gatekeepers as most media houses simply ran with the judgement order, without a backgrounder, which I consider compelling in this case.
Well, as we are beginning to see, the questions that the media ought to have asked ab initio are now being forced upon it.
Less than 24 hours after the news of this judgement made it into the news, a man who claims to be the spokesperson of the Youth Party has come out to dissociate the party from the suit.
The statement from the Youth Party reads: “We dissociate ourselves entirely from this suit, its proceedings, and the judgment arising therefrom”.
So, who authorised the filing of the
suit, FHC/ABJ/CS/517/2016, and filed by the Youth Party with INEC as the sole defendant?
What was the position as canvassed by INEC in this matter?
When did the hearing in the matter take place?
How was it that no-one got wind of a matter of this huge significance as it made its way through listing, hearing, and judgement?
