The Federal High Court in Abuja has ordered the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to reinstate Ladi Adebutu as the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) governorship candidate in Ogun State for the 2027 election, directing the commission to update its list within 24 hours.

Justice Peter Lifu gave the order on Friday, November 13, 2026, ruling that INEC acted unlawfully by excluding Adebutu’s name without giving him an opportunity to be heard.

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The judge held that the commission lacked the constitutional and statutory authority to unilaterally disqualify a candidate validly nominated by a political party.

He declared Adebutu’s removal from the candidates’ list unlawful, unconstitutional and of no effect.

The ruling followed a suit filed by the PDP and Adebutu after INEC omitted his name from the final list of candidates published on October 10.

The plaintiffs had argued that Adebutu participated in the party’s governorship primary election on May 24, 2026, and was subsequently nominated as its candidate.

They also told the court that the PDP published his name on August 29 without any objection from the electoral commission.

According to the plaintiffs, the party’s National Secretary and other officials wrote to INEC on October 14, requesting the reinstatement of Adebutu’s name, but the commission did not act on the request.

During the proceedings, the PDP’s National Organising Secretary, Umar Bature, testified that Adebutu was a registered member of the party and that his name appeared in its membership register submitted to INEC.

Bature said the party submitted its membership register, containing more than 30,000 names, to the commission through a flash drive on April 22, 2026.

He further maintained that Adebutu registered as a party member on February 24, 2026, and that his membership had never been disputed.

However, INEC’s witness, Mustapha Mohammed, a programme analyst with the commission, told the court that a search conducted before publication of the candidates’ list did not reveal Adebutu’s name in the PDP membership register.

Mohammed said the name of the party’s deputy governorship candidate was found in the register.

Under cross-examination, however, he admitted that he was not the official who received the flash drive from the PDP and could not confirm its exact contents.

Justice Lifu subsequently held that INEC failed to establish that Adebutu’s name was absent from the membership register submitted by the party.

The judge also faulted the commission for failing to challenge the conduct of the May 24 primary election within the legally prescribed period.

He questioned why INEC waited until August before raising concerns about the nomination, warning against allowing the commission to exercise powers not conferred on it by law.

“If this is not resolved, there will be a day that INEC will disqualify a candidate a day to election. This must not be allowed. This would be an absurdity,” the judge said.

Justice Lifu maintained that the authority to nominate candidates rested exclusively with political parties, while the power to disqualify a candidate after nomination belonged to a competent court.

He said INEC should have approached the Federal High Court or a State High Court if it believed Adebutu was not qualified to contest the election.

The judge consequently ordered the commission to rectify the final candidates’ list published on October 10 to include Adebutu’s name.

He further ruled that INEC could not validly announce the result of the 2027 Ogun governorship election without the participation of the plaintiffs, describing such an outcome as unconstitutional and of no effect.

The judgment marks a significant development in the PDP’s efforts to participate in the Ogun governorship election scheduled for February 6, 2027.

INEC had previously excluded Adebutu and his running mate from its final list, maintaining that their names were not found in the party membership register submitted to the commission.

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The PDP and Adebutu challenged the decision in court, with the commission defending its position during the proceedings. The court’s ruling has now directed INEC to restore the governorship candidate to the list.