SUBPOENA: Tinubu’s 1999, 2023 elections “CF001” not in our records, Says INEC
*As electoral body asks court to set aside subpoena seeking for same
*INEC attempting to avoid producing President Tinubu’s electoral records – Sowore
*APC reacts to Sowore’s campaign plan, respondents accuse ruling party of ‘hiding something’
By OUR REPORTER
The subpoena against the INEC chairman followed an application by Sowore’s defence team, led by Adeyinka Olumide-Fusika, SAN, seeking to compel relevant individuals to appear in court and produce documents considered necessary for the defence.
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has reportedly approached the Federal High Court in Abuja, seeking an order to set aside a subpoena directing its Chairman, Professor Joash Amupitan, to appear in court and produce President Bola Tinubu’s electoral documents relating to the 1999 Lagos State governorship election and the 2023 presidential election.
INEC’s lawyer, Alex Izinyon, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), filed the application on Tuesday, November 10, 2026. The court registry received the application at 3:45 p.m. according to The DEFENDER’s source.
The application came a day before Amupitan was scheduled to appear as a defence witness in the criminal trial of human rights activist Omoyele Sowore.
The case, numbered FHC/CR/484/2025, is before Justice Mohammed Umar of the Federal High Court, Abuja.
Sowore is being prosecuted by the Department of State Services (DSS) over social media publications in which he described President Tinubu as a criminal. He has pleaded not guilty to the charges.
According to a report, INEC raised four grounds for challenging the subpoena, describing it as “void ab initio, ungrantable, inconsistent and contradictory.”
The commission argued that its chairman was not personally served with the subpoena as required by law.
It also maintained that the electoral document described as INEC CF001, relating to either the 1999 Lagos governorship election or the 2023 presidential election, did not exist in its records.
INEC further argued that the documents sought were unknown to it in the manner described and were not in the custody of its chairman.
The commission accused Sowore’s defence team of acting in bad faith, describing the application as irrelevant, speculative and intended to embarrass the electoral body.
In a supporting affidavit, Mendie Akpan, a litigation secretary in Izinyon’s law firm, stated that the subpoena was delivered to INEC’s Litigation and Prosecution Department at about 12:30 p.m. on November 6.
However, he maintained that Professor Amupitan was not personally served with the document, either on that date or subsequently.
The affidavit also stated that the INEC chairman was not a party to the criminal proceedings and was not the maker of the documents being requested.
The subpoena against the INEC chairman followed an application by Sowore’s defence team, led by Adeyinka Olumide-Fusika, SAN, seeking to compel relevant individuals to appear in court and produce documents considered necessary for the defence.
The court also approved a subpoena against Joe Igbokwe, a chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC), as a proposed defence witness.
However, Justice Umar set aside a separate subpoena issued against the lead DSS prosecutor, Akinlolu Kehinde, ruling that the lawyer could not be compelled to testify in the case.
Sowore disclosed INEC’s latest move in a Facebook post on Tuesday, accusing the electoral commission of attempting to avoid producing President Tinubu’s electoral records.
He questioned why INEC was challenging the court process over documents he insisted should be in its custody and maintained that the records should be produced in court on Wednesday, November 11.
The Federal High Court is yet to rule on the INEC’s application.
Meanwhile, the APC National Secretary, Ajibola Basiru, has dismissed Sowore’s reported plan to launch his campaign council at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.
Basiru challenged the activist to first win a seat in a State House of Assembly before pursuing a presidential ambition.
The APC chieftain also defended President Tinubu’s re-election prospects, citing the party’s claimed membership of 12.8 million and its performance in recent elections.
Some respondents said APC has something to hide.
