The Federal High Court in Abuja has ordered the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to restore Ladi Adebutu’s name to its list of candidates for the 2027 Ogun State governorship election.
In a judgment delivered on Friday, Justice Peter Lifu ruled that INEC acted outside its constitutional and statutory powers when it excluded the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate from the final list of governorship contenders without first giving him an opportunity to defend himself.
The judge held that the commission could not independently disqualify a candidate validly nominated by a political party, declaring Adebutu’s removal unlawful, unconstitutional and of no effect.
Justice Lifu stressed that the authority to determine whether a candidate should be disqualified after being nominated and submitted by a political party rests with the courts, not INEC.
He said the authority to disqualify a candidate after his name had been forwarded by a political party “resides with the Federal High Court or State High Court.”
The ruling followed a suit filed by Adebutu and the PDP after INEC published its final list of candidates on October 10, 2026, without including the former Ogun governorship candidate.
Before considering the substantive arguments, Justice Lifu dismissed INEC’s preliminary objection challenging the competence of the suit.
The commission had questioned the validity of the originating summons filed by the plaintiffs.
However, the judge held that the process was properly signed by a senior counsel and contained the names of other lawyers in his law firm. He consequently ruled that the suit was competent and proceeded to determine the issues raised by the parties.
The court however considered whether INEC violated Adebutu’s right to fair hearing, whether the commission had the authority to disqualify him independently and whether it could lawfully remove his name from the list of candidates submitted for the election.
Adebutu told the court that he had previously contested the Ogun governorship election in 2019 and emerged as the PDP’s candidate in the 2023 election.
He further explained that he participated in the party’s primary election for the 2027 governorship contest and was nominated on May 24, 2026.
According to the plaintiffs, the PDP subsequently published his name on August 29 without any objection from the electoral commission.
However, when INEC released its final list of candidates in October, Adebutu discovered that his name was missing.
The plaintiffs said the PDP and its National Secretary wrote to the commission on October 14, requesting that the omission be corrected, but INEC did not act on their demand.
Justice Lifu also questioned why INEC waited several months before raising concerns about Adebutu’s eligibility, particularly regarding the party primary conducted on May 24.
The judge noted that the commission failed to challenge the conduct of the primary election within the period prescribed by law.
Expressing his displeasure over the timing, he said: “As far as I know, no person filed any suit to challenge Adebutu 14 days after the conduct of the poll. It was baffling that INEC waited until August.”
The judge warned that allowing the electoral commission to exercise powers beyond those granted by law could create a dangerous precedent for future elections.
He said, “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.”
On the commission’s authority to remove a candidate from an already published list, Justice Lifu was categorical in his interpretation of the law.
“INEC does not have the power to remove names or disqualify any candidate on its own. The power to disqualify a candidate after the name has been forwarded resides with the FHC or State high Court.”
He further emphasised the role of political parties in selecting candidates for elections, adding:
“The power to nominate a candidate for an election exclusively belongs to a political party, and the exercise of that power is within a party,” he said.