The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has petitioned the Federal High Court in Abuja to set aside a subpoena compelling the commission to produce electoral documents linked to President Bola Tinubu’s 1999 Lagos State governorship bid and his 2023 presidential election.

INEC Chairman Professor Joash Amupitan, SAN, filed the application through his counsel, Alex Izinyon, SAN, challenging the court order issued during the ongoing cyberbullying trial of African Action Congress (AAC) presidential candidate Omoyele Sowore.

Sowore’s legal team had sought the production of Tinubu’s INEC Form CF01—including a 1999 affidavit regarding lost certificates—as part of their defence strategy.

In its motion, the electoral commission argued that the subpoena is legally defective, was not personally served on the INEC Chairman as required by law, and seeks records that do not exist in the commission's custody in the manner specified.

"No document known as INEC CF01 for the 1999 Lagos State Governorship Election or INEC Form CF01 for the 2023 Presidential Election exists as described, and such documents are not in the Applicant’s custody," INEC stated in its court filing.

Characterizing the subpoena as "bad faith, irrelevant, fishy and speculative," the commission maintained that it is not a party to the criminal prosecution between the Federal Republic of Nigeria and Sowore, alleging the demand was designed to embarrass the electoral body.

Meanwhile, trial proceedings scheduled for Wednesday before Justice Mohammed Umar were stalled due to the judge’s absence on health grounds, with the court adjourning the matter to November 17 for continuation.

In a separate ruling earlier in the week, the court approved a defence subpoena summoning All Progressives Congress (APC) chieftain Joe Igbokwe to testify regarding his public reactions to Sowore’s social media posts about the President.

Sowore is standing trial on charges brought by the State Security Service (SSS) under the Cybercrimes Act over social media posts published on X and Facebook in which he described President Bola Tinubu as a criminal.

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