Court Orders INEC, National Assembly to Produce Documents in Chinda Defection Suit

A Federal High Court in Port Harcourt has ordered the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to produce documents relating to the All Progressives Congress (APC) governorship primary in Rivers State.

The order followed an application by the plaintiff, Samuel Amatonjie, who is seeking certified true copies of the APC membership register submitted to INEC on April 20, 2026, and a letter notifying the commission of the party’s planned governorship primary.

The court also issued a subpoena directing the Speaker of the House of Representatives and the Clerk to the National Assembly to produce certified copies of the House of Representatives Hansard covering the period from April 2026 to June 2, 2026.

The documents are expected to support Amatonjie’s case, which challenges the eligibility of the APC governorship candidate, Kingsley Ogundu-Chinda, following his defection from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to the APC.

When the matter came up on Wednesday, Amatonjie explained why the documents were necessary for his case, prompting the presiding judge, Justice Muhammed Turaki, to grant the applications.

Meanwhile, counsel to the PDP, Paul Daudu, SAN, and counsel to Ogundu-Chinda, Dike Udenna, complained about what they described as the late service of the plaintiff’s response to their preliminary objection challenging the court’s jurisdiction.

They requested more time to study the response and file their replies.

After hearing from the lawyers, Justice Turaki directed all parties to file and exchange the necessary court processes before adjourning the case until December 10, 2026, for hearing.

Amatonjie had approached the court seeking an interpretation of Section 68 of the 1999 Constitution, as amended, concerning Ogundu-Chinda’s defection from the PDP to the APC.

He is asking the court to determine whether a combined interpretation of Sections 177(c) and 68 of the Constitution permits Ogundu-Chinda to be recognised as having validly defected to the APC as of May 9, 2026, when he was screened and declared the party’s governorship candidate.

Speaking with journalists after the proceedings, Daudu explained that his team had requested an adjournment because it had filed a preliminary objection challenging the court’s jurisdiction to hear the case on September 29.

He said the plaintiff’s response to the objection was served on the defence only on Tuesday, adding that his team was entitled to about seven days to study the document and file a reply.

Daudu said the adjournment would allow the lawyers to examine the plaintiff’s response before submitting their arguments.

Amatonjie also explained that the subpoena applications were part of the steps taken to obtain documents he considered essential to his case.

He said the parties had exchanged preliminary objections and counter-affidavits at the previous sitting, requiring him to respond to the processes filed by the defendants.

According to him, the defendants also needed time to reply to his response, while his applications sought to compel INEC and the National Assembly to provide relevant records.

He explained that the subpoena directed at the Speaker of the House of Representatives and the Clerk to the National Assembly was intended to obtain the relevant records of the House.