Prove your case in court, not through press conference, INEC tells sacked Adamawa REC

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has asked Hudu Yunusa-Ari, the former resident electoral commissioner (REC) in Adamawa, to prove his case in court and not through the press conference.

In an interview with NAN on Monday, Rotimi Oyekanmi, chief press secretary (CPS) to Mahmood Yakubu, the INEC chairman, said the commission would not comment on the suit against Yunusa-Ari since it is before the court.

On February 5, the senate granted the request of President Bola Tinubu to sack Yunusa-Ari and the suspended RECs of Abia and Sokoto states over alleged misconduct.

In April 2023, Yunusa-Ari declared Aisha Binani Dahiru, candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), as the winner of the Adamawa state governorship supplementary poll when the collation of the results was yet to be completed.

On April 20, 2023, former President Muhammadu Buhari approved the suspension of the Adamawa REC pending the completion of an investigation by the police.

On July 6, 2024, INEC filed a six-count charge against Yunusa-Ari before a high court in Yola, Adamawa state capital.

Last Saturday, Yunusa-Ari, at a press conference, said the electoral commission did not give him the opportunity to defend himself.

The sacked REC had insisted that Binani won the 2023 Adamawa governorship election.

Reacting to the development, Oyekanmi said Yunusa-Ari now has the opportunity to prove his case in court since he has returned to the country.

“In response to your request, our attention has also been drawn to the interview granted by the former REC of Adamawa State, Yunusa-Ari. There is nothing new in what he said,” Oyekanmi said.

“In any case, the substantive matter of the 2023 Adamawa state governorship election has been determined through the appropriate judicial process from the trial tribunal to the appeal tribunal and finally settled by the supreme court.

“The commission will not comment on the propriety or otherwise of his conduct during the concluding part of the election, as the matter is right now the subject of litigation at the high court sitting in Yola and, therefore, sub judice.

“Now that he is back in the country, the right place to prove his innocence and the propriety of his action is by availing himself of the due process of law and not a press conference.”