By Sibe Inumidun
The Federal High Court in Abuja has directed the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to restore Ladi Adebutu’s name to its list of candidates for the 2027 Ogun State governorship election.
Justice Peter Lifu, who delivered the judgment on Friday, held that the electoral commission acted beyond its constitutional and statutory powers by excluding Adebutu from the final list of governorship candidates without giving him an opportunity to defend himself.
The court ruled that INEC could not independently disqualify a candidate validly nominated by a political party, describing the commission’s decision to remove Adebutu’s name as unlawful, unconstitutional and without legal effect.
Justice Lifu maintained that the authority to disqualify a candidate after a political party has nominated and submitted the person’s name rests with the courts rather than the electoral commission.
According to the judge, the power to determine such disqualification belongs to either the Federal High Court or a State High Court.
The judgment followed a suit instituted by Adebutu and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) after INEC published its final list of candidates on October 10, 2026, without including his name.
Before determining the substantive issues, the judge dismissed INEC’s preliminary objection challenging the competence of the suit.
The commission had questioned the validity of the originating summons filed by Adebutu and the PDP. However, Justice Lifu held that the court process was properly signed by a senior counsel and contained the names of other lawyers in his law firm.
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He consequently ruled that the suit was competent and proceeded to examine the substantive arguments presented by the parties.
The issues before the court included whether INEC violated Adebutu’s right to fair hearing, whether the commission possessed the legal authority to independently disqualify him and whether it could remove his name from the list of candidates submitted by the PDP.
In his submissions, Adebutu told the court that he had previously contested the Ogun governorship election in 2019 and emerged as the PDP’s candidate for the 2023 election.
He further stated that he participated in the party’s governorship primary for the 2027 election and secured its nomination on May 24, 2026.
The plaintiffs argued that the PDP subsequently published his name on August 29 without any objection from INEC.
They said they were surprised when the commission released its final list of candidates in October without including Adebutu.
According to the plaintiffs, the PDP and its National Secretary wrote to INEC on October 14, requesting that the omission be corrected, but the commission failed to act on the request.
In his assessment of the dispute, Justice Lifu questioned why INEC waited several months before raising concerns about Adebutu’s eligibility, particularly in relation to the party primary conducted in May.
The judge noted that the commission did not challenge the primary election within the period prescribed by law.
Expressing concern over the timing of INEC’s action, he said it would be problematic to allow the commission to exercise powers beyond those conferred on it by the Constitution and electoral laws.
He warned that permitting such powers could create uncertainty in future elections, including the possibility of candidates being disqualified shortly before election day.
“If this is not resolved, there will be a day that INEC will disqualify a candidate a day to election. This must not be allowed. This would be an absurdity,” the judge said.
Reiterating his position on the commission’s authority, Justice Lifu said INEC could not independently remove a candidate’s name from an already submitted list on grounds requiring judicial determination.
He also stressed that the responsibility for nominating candidates for elections rests exclusively with political parties, subject to the provisions of the law.
