By George Mgbeleke <\/p>\n
The Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria (HURIWA) has expressed grave concerns over what appears to be a disturbing pattern of selective obedience to judicial pronouncements by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), warning that such conduct threatens the integrity of Nigeria’s democratic process and undermines public confidence in the nation’s electoral management body.
\nIn a statement signed by National Coordinator of HURIWA,Comrade Emmanuel Nnadozie Onwubiko the group is particularly alarmed that while INEC moved with remarkable speed to implement court decisions relating to the leadership crisis within the Social Democratic Party (SDP), including the recognition of Professor Umar Abubakar Gombe as National Chairman following judicial pronouncements, the same electoral commission has continued to ignore and delay compliance with the subsisting judgment of the Court of Appeal concerning the leadership structure of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
\nThe rights group specifically queried why INEC has failed to recognise Alhaji Tanimu Turaki as the Interim National Chairman of the PDP as duly appointed by the party’s recognised Board of Trustees and backed by judicial decisions, even as the commission demonstrated unusual efficiency in effecting leadership changes within the SDP on the basis of court orders.
\nThe association said this apparent double standard raises troubling questions about whether INEC is operating under the same legal framework for all registered political parties or whether there are extraneous influences shaping its decisions.
\n“It is difficult for objective observers of Nigeria’s democratic landscape to understand why INEC is swift in implementing judicial pronouncements that affect one political party while appearing reluctant or unwilling to give effect to similar judicial decisions concerning another party,” HURIWA stated.
\n“If court orders are binding on INEC in the case of the SDP, why are court orders apparently not binding when it comes to the internal leadership issues of the PDP? Is there one law for the SDP and another law for the PDP? Nigerians deserve answers.”
\nThe association further referenced the recent Court of Appeal judgment which reportedly nullified the controversial March 29, 2026 convention conducted by the faction associated with the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, on the grounds that the legal authority upon which the convention was predicated had expired.
\nAccording to HURIWA, the appellate court’s determination that the tenure of the faction’s National Legal Adviser had lapsed and that there was no credible evidence of a valid re-election fundamentally invalidates actions arising from that disputed convention and should ordinarily compel all relevant institutions, including INEC, to align their records with the legal realities established by the court.
\nThe group warned that any attempt to selectively interpret or enforce judicial decisions could deepen political tensions and fuel suspicions that state institutions are being deployed to weaken opposition parties ahead of the 2027 general elections.
\nHURIWA also challenged INEC to publicly address allegations recently made by the SDP’s presidential flagbearer, Prince Adewole Adebayo, who has repeatedly suggested that certain state institutions are being manipulated to advance the political interests of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).
\n“INEC owes Nigerians a duty of transparency. The commission must openly demonstrate through its actions that it is not operating from the pockets of any politician or political party. It must reassure Nigerians that it remains an independent constitutional body committed solely to the rule of law and democratic principles.”
\n“Given the growing public perception of selective enforcement, INEC should urgently clarify why it has promptly complied with judicial directives affecting the SDP while allegedly failing to implement similar judicial outcomes relating to the PDP. Silence in the face of these legitimate concerns only fuels suspicion and damages institutional credibility.”
\nThe association emphasized that democracy can only thrive where institutions act impartially and where court judgments are obeyed without discrimination, political calculations or external interference.
\nHURIWA therefore called on INEC Chairman, Professor Mahmood Yakubu, and the commission’s leadership to immediately provide a comprehensive explanation regarding the apparent disparity in the treatment of the SDP and PDP leadership disputes and to ensure that all court decisions are implemented uniformly and without bias.
\nThe group warned that the continued perception of selective compliance with judicial orders could further erode public confidence in Nigeria’s electoral process at a time when the nation requires stronger democratic institutions, greater accountability and absolute respect for the rule of law.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
By George Mgbeleke The Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria (HURIWA) has expressed grave concerns over what appears to be a disturbing pattern of selective obedience to judicial pronouncements by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), warning that such conduct threatens the integrity of Nigeria’s democratic process and undermines public confidence in the nation’s electoral […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":11875,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-14809","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-politics"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyechoes.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14809","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyechoes.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyechoes.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyechoes.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyechoes.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=14809"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/dailyechoes.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14809\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":14810,"href":"https:\/\/dailyechoes.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14809\/revisions\/14810"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyechoes.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/11875"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyechoes.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=14809"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyechoes.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=14809"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyechoes.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=14809"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}