The National Rescue Movement, NRM, has finally served the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, with Form 48.

A bailiff from the Federal High Court, Abuja, Mr. Ayuba Sule, was at the INEC office on Thursday afternoon to serve Prof. Mahmoud Yakubu Form 48 as ordered by the court.

The bailiff dropped the copy of the Form 48 meant for the INEC Chairman at the Legal Department of the Commission.

However, none of the staff of the Commission would have anything to do with the form, as one of them said, “Can’t you see that this is Form 48, please, I love my job,” after he collected it from the bailiff and scanned through.

The bailiff ended up dropping the court order and the accompanying Form 48 in front of the Legal Department and left the Commission.

Recall that the Federal High Court, Abuja (Suit No: FHC/ABJ/CS/45/2025) per Egwuatu had on June 17, 2025, issued an ex parte order for the NRM to serve Prof. Mahmoud Yakubu, the INEC Chairman, through substituted service – this implies that the court can serve any INEC staff.

This is following Prof. Yakubu’s failure or refusal to obey or appeal the March 5, 2025, order of the court which mandated him to recognize the new National Working Committee, NWC, of the NRM led by Chief Edozie Njoku.

The NRM returned to the court when it was clear that Prof. Yakubu was unyielding and unwilling to obey the court’s earlier judgment.

In the legal sense, Form 48 is a quasi-criminal proceeding that tends to properly educate and make a defendant aware of the implications of his disobedience to a subsisting court judgment.

NRM said it was determined to hold INEC and its leadership to account and ensure that justice is achieved.