Anambra PDP crisis: INEC Chairman set to know fate over contempt proceedings

Justice John Tsoho of the Federal High Court in Abuja on Tuesday fixed July 4 to determine whether the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission, Prof. Mahmoud Yakubu, be committed to prison over the lingering crisis in the Peoples Democratic Party in Anambra State.
The court had at its last sitting issued a notice of Consequence of Disobedience to Court Order, otherwise known as Form 48, on Yakubu.
Also served with the notice are the Commission’s Secretary, Augusta Ogakwu, and its former Director of Legal Services, Ibrahim Bawa (SAN).
In the suit between the Ejike Oguebego-led State Executive Council of the PDP in Anambra State and INEC, late Justice Evoh Chukwu of the Federal High Court, Abuja had stopped the commission from recognising candidates contained in the list of nominated candidates sent by interests other than its executive.
Justice Chukwu had given an order of perpetual injunction restraining the first defendant (PDP), its agents, servants, privies, assign, officials whatsoever name they may be called from forwarding or submitting to the second defendant (INEC) any delegate list or nominated candidate that may emerge from the congress or primaries conducted by the purported caretaker committee set up by the PDP, Anambra State chapter, except those that emanate from the plaintiffs’ (Oguebego, others) congress.
In spite of the order of the court, the electoral umpire went ahead to accept nomination from the caretaker committee, which produced Andy Uba and Stella Oduah as senators from Anambra State.
Oguebego and Chuks Okoye, the legal adviser of the party in the state, went back to the court to file Form 48.
In the Form 48, dated February 18, 2016 and signed by the Registrar of the court, the court warned the electoral body on the consequence of disobedience to its order of the court.
At Tuesday’s proceedings, lead counsel to the Oguebego leadership of the PDP in Anambra, Chief Chris Uche (SAN), moved the application for the committal proceedings against the INEC.
It would be recalled the Supreme Court had recently affirmed the authenticity of the Ejike Oguebego leadership of the PDP in Anambra State and directed INEC to deal with it in all cases.
Justice Chukwu had also in the case marked: FHC/ABJ/CS/854/2015, restrained INEC from accepting list of nominated candidates from other sources except from the Oguebego-led executive.
Form 48 is a “notice of consequences of disobedience to court orders” issued on a party who is reluctant or unwilling to obey a subsisting order of a court.
A party who issued Form 48 on a perceived erring party will proceed to issue Form 49 (request for order of committal against an erring party), commencing contempt proceedings against the erring party.
Oguebego and Okoye are at liberty to initiate contempt proceedings against the electoral body and its principal officials by filing Form 48 if the court order is not obeyed.