Election-Rigger Should Not Succeed Yakubu As INEC Chair — Datti Baba-Ahmed Labour Party’s 2023 vice-presidential candidate, Datti Baba-Ahmed, says Nigeria cannot afford to have an election-rigger succeed Prof. Mahmood Yakubu as INEC chairman when his 10-year tenure ends on November 9, 2025. Speaking on Politics Today, Baba-Ahmed blamed Yakubu for irregularities in the 2023 polls, which he said undermined constitutional requirements and deepened Nigeria’s political crisis. He stressed that only a credible, independent successor could restore faith in Nigeria’s democracy, adding that electoral fraud fuels insecurity, corruption, and national instability. Yakubu, 75, appointed by former President Muhammadu Buhari in 2015 and reappointed in 2020, will be succeeded by a nominee of President Bola Tinubu. #INEC #DattiBabaAhmed #NigeriaElections

Abuja Court Dismisses INEC’s Bid to Halt Prosecution of 2023 Election Offenders A Federal High Court in Abuja has rejected the Independent National Electoral Commission’s (INEC) attempt to overturn a judgment mandating it to investigate and prosecute electoral offenders from the 2023 general elections. Justice Obiora Egwuatu, in a ruling delivered on July 23, 2025, dismissed INEC’s preliminary objection, declaring that his July 18, 2024 judgment was final and not a default ruling as claimed by the Commission. The court reaffirmed that only the Court of Appeal can overturn the judgment, not the same court via administrative excuses. The case followed a suit by SERAP, which accused INEC of failing to act on electoral violence, bribery, and vote-buying. Justice Egwuatu’s earlier ruling directed INEC to appoint independent counsel and prosecute offenders, including political office holders. The contempt hearing against INEC is set for October 20, 2025.#INEC, #SERAP, #ElectoralOffences, #NigeriaElections2023, #ElectionViolence,