Court Orders INEC to Reinstate Ladi Adebutu as Ogun PDP Governorship Candidate Within 24 Hours ⚖️

The Federal High Court in Abuja has ordered the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to immediately reinstate Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) flagbearer Oladipupo “Ladi” Adebutu onto the final list of candidates for the 2027 Ogun State governorship election.

Delivering a landmark ruling on Friday, November 13, 2026, presiding judge Justice Peter Lifu gave the electoral umpire a strict 24-hour ultimatum to update its register. The court held that INEC acted ultra vires—beyond its constitutional and statutory powers—by unilaterally disqualifying a candidate validly sponsored by a political party.

INEC Lacks Power to Disqualify Candidates, Judge Rules

The judgment followed suit marked FHC/ABJ/CS/2573/2026, instituted by the PDP and Adebutu after the commission omitted his name from the final list of governorship candidates published on October 10, 2026. Before addressing the core arguments, Justice Lifu dismissed INEC’s preliminary objection challenging the competence of the suit, affirming that the originating summons was validly signed and properly filed.

In resolving the substantive dispute, the court faulted INEC on multiple constitutional and procedural grounds. Justice Lifu held that removing Adebutu’s name without granting him an opportunity to respond violated his fundamental right to a fair hearing. Emphasizing that the authority to disqualify a nominated candidate rests solely with the Federal High Court or a State High Court, the judge warned against granting administrative bodies unchecked discretion over the ballot.

“INEC does not have the power to remove names or disqualify any candidate on its own. If this is not resolved, there will be a day that INEC will disqualify a candidate a day to an election. This must not be allowed. This would be an absurdity,” Justice Lifu declared.

Flash Drive Controversy and Timeline Lapses

During the trial, Adebutu established that he emerged as the PDP’s governorship candidate at a primary election held on May 24, 2026, with his name formally published by the party on August 29 without any legal challenge. When INEC excluded him in October, the PDP leadership wrote to the commission on October 14 demanding a reversal, which went unanswered.

Testifying as the first prosecution witness, PDP National Organising Secretary Umar Bature confirmed that Adebutu was the very first member registered on February 24, 2026, and that his name was included on the flash drive containing over 30,000 party members submitted to INEC on April 22, 2026.

Conversely, INEC’s sole witness, programme analyst Mustapha Mohammed, claimed a search of the digital register turned up the name of Adebutu’s deputy running mate but not Adebutu himself. However, under cross-examination, Mohammed admitted he was not the official who received the flash drive from the PDP and could not verify whether the device presented in court was the exact one submitted by the party. Justice Lifu ruled that INEC’s failure to call the material witness who received the submission was fatal to its defense, further criticizing the commission for waiting until August to raise objections long after the 14-day statutory window for pre-election challenges had expired.

2027 Ogun Poll Void Without Adebutu

Declaring the removal of Adebutu’s name unlawful, unconstitutional, and of no effect, Justice Lifu ordered INEC to rectify its October 10 publication within 24 hours. Issuing a stern warning to the electoral body, the court ruled that INEC cannot validly conduct or announce results for the 2027 Ogun State governorship election without the participation of Adebutu and the PDP—declaring that any poll held in defiance of the order would be unconstitutional and void.