Nigeria’s Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) is contesting a subpoena in a Federal High Court in Abuja that calls for Chairman Joash Amupitan to produce President Bola Tinubu’s 1999 and 2023 election records.
Premium Times and Independent Nigeria reported that a motion dated Nov. 10 was filed through lawyer Alex Izinyon. INEC argues that Amupitan was not personally served and that the forms sought are misidentified or outside his custody. The commission also says the subpoena is irrelevant and was brought in bad faith; those are its claims, not findings by the court.
A subpoena copy shared by activist Omoyele Sowore seeks President Bola Tinubu’s Form CF001 from his 1999 Lagos State governorship candidacy, including an affidavit concerning lost certificates, as well as a form from his 2023 presidential election. It directs Amupitan to testify for the defense. INEC’s reported objection refers to CF01 and says no form under that name exists for the two elections, leaving the numbering discrepancy unresolved.
The case, FHC/CR/484/2025, is a Department of State Services (DSS) prosecution of Sowore over social-media posts describing Tinubu as a criminal. The Guardian reported that on Nov. 9 the court approved subpoenas for Amupitan and All Progressives Congress (APC) chieftain Joe Igbokwe, while setting aside an earlier subpoena for DSS lead lawyer Akinlolu Kehinde.
Court reports scheduled Amupitan’s appearance for Nov. 11. The subpoena copy bears an Oct. 26 date and appears to call for attendance that day, a discrepancy the reports did not reconcile. The dispute follows EconoTimes’ earlier coverage of Amupitan’s statement about a separate order concerning Tinubu’s INEC records.
