Court remands suspended INEC REC’s lawyer in prison for contempt

A high court sitting in Yola, presided over by Justice Benjamin Lawan Manji has sent M. K. Tijjani, counsel to the dismissed Resident Electoral Commissioner of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Barr. Hudu Ari Yunusa, to Yola prison for contempt of court.

M. K. Tijjani, who is representing Barr. Hudu was sent to prison for insolence and dishonourable acts during court proceedings today.

At the resumed sitting of the criminal case against the already dismissed Adamawa REC, Barrister Tijjani refused to announce his appearance when the case was mentioned but rather turned his face in the other direction even when the presiding Judge asked him to announce his appearance.

“While responding, he rudely told the judge that; “I am not a party to the case; during the last sitting, I only held the brief of another counsel. “

Irked by his outright disrespect and profane utterances against the court, the judge ordered him to unrobe, step into the witness box, and explain why the court would not commit him to contempt of court.

While in witness box Tijjani exhibited same attitude which the court viewed as contempt of court and ordered that he should be taken to Yola correctional centre.

It could be recalled that during the court’s proceedings on the same case on the 23rd January 2025, Tijjani, who announced his appearance for Hudu, attempted to record the proceedings with his mobile phone.

When the presiding judge discovered that the lawyer was planning to record the proceedings with his phone, he ordered him to stop what he was planning to do, but Tijjani, dared the judge, saying nobody would stop him from recording the proceedings.

Tijjani lashed out at the judge, saying that no law that prohibits lawyers from recording court proceedings with their mobile phones and that nobody will stop him from doing it.

It took the intervention of the Counsel to the prosecution, Chief L. D. Nzadon, who called Tijjani to order and pleaded with the judge to exercise patience with the action of his colleague at the last sitting.