Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, Mahmood Yakubu, has been served with the Form 49 by the Federal High Court, Abuja.
The Court bailiff, Ayuba Sule served the INEC boss the form, on Tuesday, on behalf of the National Rescue Movement, NRM.
DAILY POST reported that the court bailiff served Yakubu Form 48 last week.
Form 49 is a critical legal instrument in Nigeria’s jurisprudence, serving as a formal notice requiring an alleged contemnor to justify why they should not be committed to prison for disobeying a court order.
It is served on a contemnor after they have been served with Form 48 – which warns of the consequences of disobeying a court order.
And if the contemnor fails to comply within two days of being served the said Form 48, the applicant may request the court registrar to issue and serve Form 49.
This document requires the contemnor to show cause why an order for committal-imprisonment – should not be made against them for failing to obey the court order.
The judgement of the Federal High Court by Egwuatu, on March 5, 2025, clearly ordered the INEC to accept and recognize the outcomes of the party’s January 17, 2025 Emergency National Convention.
“By the service of Form 49, Mahmoud has just a few days to comply with the judgment of the court or he will be docked in the court, where he will have to explain to the court why he has refused to obey its judgment,”; a statement by NRM, signed by its Spokesperson, Chinedu Anselem, said.
“If history is anything to go by, Mahmoud’s defiance to Court Orders and judgments may have earned him an indelible scar that can make him easily identifiable wherever he goes.
“The Party is resolute in its determination to prove to Nigerians that our primary duty as citizens is to hold public office holders accountable and ensure they operate within the frames of the law. They must not be allowed to play God.
“And for us in the NRM, our determination and resolve are a clarion call on Nigerians that the rule of law must prevail.”;
In response to a question by DAILY POST during a media parley on Wednesday, INEC Chairman, Prof Yakubu said he is used to being served Form 48 and Form 49.
He, however, through the legal adviser of the Commission, said the matter was already being resolved.
