Court orders arrest of Mahmood Yakubu…don’t let him get away from his “crime” human rights advocate cries out

By Kingston Magare 8.10.2025
A Federal High Court sitting in Osogbo Osun State, has ordered the arrest of former Independent National Electoral Commission chairman, Prof Mahmood Yakubu, for an alleged contempt of court.
This is coming a day after Prof. Yakubu stepped aside from the INEC helms of affairs and Ms. May Agbamuche-Mbu, stepped in until a new chairman is appointed by the President Bola Tinubu’s administration.
Prof. Yakubu’s court troubles are rooted in a case filed by the Action Alliance over the noncompliance with the judgment of the Court delivered by Justice Funmilola Demi-Ajayi in suit number FHC/OS/CS/194/2024, ordering the INEC to include the names of the National Chairman of the Action Alliance, Adekunle Rufai Omoaje, and other members of the party’s National Executive Committee, NEC, on the INEC portal.
However, INEC claimed to have complied with the court judgment, but the party disagreed with the commission, as the name of Omoaje was yet to be uploaded on the commission’s website despite the orders of the Court.
A certified copy of the latest ruling, dated October 7, 2025, and signed by O.M. Kilani on behalf of the Court Registrar, stated:
“It is hereby ordered that the Inspector General of Police shall cause the arrest and shall charge the defendant/judgment debtors for contempt and committal proceedings within seven days of this ruling.”
Meanwhile human rights advocate Maxwell Okpara, said Prof. Yakubu should be held accountable for conducting the worst election in history despite the huge resources at his disposal.
“He ought to have been arrested, he has left behind a bad legacy. The younger generation now sees Nigeria’s elections as a cash-and-carry affair,” Okpara said on ARISE TV.
“The president has given him a national honour because he (president) is a beneficiary of the irregularity championed by Prof Yakubu.
“If we were in a sane society, as he was leaving the office, the anti-graft agencies should step in, arrest him and prevent him from leaving the shores of this country,” he said.