Solicitors representing the New Nigeria Peoples Party, or NNPP, have urged Nigeria’s electoral commission to stop engaging with individuals and groups they described as impostors, insisting that only the party leadership recognised by court judgments should be accorded electoral privileges.
In a letter dated June 19 and addressed to the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), the lawyers asked the commission to restrict all election-related communications and authorisations to the faction supervised by Dr. Boniface Aniebonam, founder and chairman of the party’s Board of Trustees.
The letter, signed by law firm Rex Firma LP and made available to journalists on Saturday, called on INEC to deny access to nomination portals, authentication keys, candidate-upload authorisations and similar electoral privileges to any rival faction not recognised by existing court rulings.
The solicitors specifically urged the commission to cease dealings with persons and groups allegedly associated with Senator Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, including Dr. Ajuji Ahmed and the Kwankwasiyya Movement.
According to the lawyers, all electoral communications and privileges relating to the NNPP should be limited to the leadership recognised by judgments of the Federal Capital Territory High Court and the Court of Appeal in Owerri.
They argued that INEC was constitutionally bound to comply with the court decisions because the commission had not appealed against the judgments directing it to recognise the Aniebonam-led leadership.
The solicitors cited Section 287 of Nigeria’s Constitution, which requires authorities and persons to give effect to decisions of courts of competent jurisdiction.
They referenced several judgments, including a March 2026 ruling by the Federal Capital Territory High Court directing INEC to recognise the leadership elected at the NNPP national convention held in Apapa, Lagos, in February 2025.
According to the lawyers, the court also ordered INEC to update its records to reflect the names of the party’s duly elected National Executive Committee and restrained the commission from recognising any other group claiming to act on behalf of the NNPP unless directed by a competent appellate court.
The letter further alleged that some individuals who had become associated with other political platforms continued to claim authority within the NNPP despite their involvement elsewhere.
The solicitors warned that granting nomination portal access or other electoral credentials to unauthorised persons would amount to recognising rival groups in violation of subsisting court orders.
They maintained that the judgments remain valid and binding and preclude recognition of any faction other than the leadership affirmed by the courts.