Legal Firestorm Brews for 2027 Elections: Agbakoba Challenges INEC on Polling Unit Results

Former Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) president Dr Olisa Agbakoba (SAN) has strongly challenged the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC)'s stance against the publication of election results already announced at polling units. Agbakoba argues that preventing Nigerians and the media from publishing such results constitutes a violation of the constitutionally guaranteed right to freedom of expression.

This intervention comes after INEC Chairman, Prof Joash Amupitan (SAN), on September 24, 2026, issued a warning at the 24th All Nigeria Editors Conference (ANEC 2026) in Enugu. Amupitan cautioned media organisations against privately publishing or amplifying collated election results prior to the Commission’s official declarations, stating that such actions could confuse voters and undermine confidence in the electoral process. He also advised newsrooms to enhance fact-checking and digital verification efforts to combat election-related misinformation and AI-generated deepfakes.

In an open letter dated October 12, 2026, addressed to Prof. Amupitan, Agbakoba countered this directive by citing a landmark 1984 Lagos State High Court judgment. This judgment, from the case of Nigeria Union of Journalists and Others v. Inspector-General of Police and Others (Suit No. M/191/83), upheld the media’s right to publish lawfully obtained election results. Agbakoba clarified that the judgment distinguished between the electoral authority’s formal declaration of final results and the publication of preliminary results already announced at polling centres, arguing that this principle remains relevant under the Electoral Act, 2026.

Agbakoba maintained that while INEC possesses the exclusive authority to declare final results, this does not grant the commission a monopoly over electoral information. He asserted that publishing figures from authentic polling-unit result sheets would not usurp INEC’s statutory responsibility. He further argued that Section 39(1) of the 1999 Constitution, as amended, which guarantees the right to receive and impart information, supports citizens’ and journalists’ ability to communicate accurate results that have already been made public.

Amid concerns over the transparency of the electoral process, particularly concerning the recording, transmission, collation, and declaration of results, Agbakoba urged INEC to ensure public access to polling-unit result sheets well ahead of the 2027 general elections. This access, he suggested, should include documents uploaded to its Result Viewing Portal (IReV), thereby enabling citizens, journalists, political parties, and election observers to independently verify and report the figures.

He stressed that allowing Nigerians to view polling-unit result sheets while simultaneously discouraging them from discussing, analysing, or reporting these figures would defeat the fundamental purpose of transparency, warning that access should be meaningful, not merely nominal. To improve the process, Agbakoba called on INEC to establish clear procedures for promptly publishing verified polling-unit results on IReV and for effectively resolving discrepancies between uploaded result sheets and figures recorded during collation. He also proposed that, where feasible, the commission set clear benchmarks to make verified results available within two hours of the close of polls or the completion of counting at the relevant stage.

The former NBA president highlighted that timely access to verifiable records would empower citizens and political parties to independently compare results, identify inconsistencies, and assess whether final declarations accurately reflected the votes recorded at polling units. He concluded by stating that transparent publication of electoral records could significantly build public confidence, reduce avoidable disputes, and limit litigation arising from conflicting accounts of election results, thereby strengthening INEC’s credibility rather than undermining its authority. He urged the commission to issue clear guidelines on publishing and responsibly reporting election results ahead of the 2027 polls.