The Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, has said political parties that field candidates whose names were not in the registers submitted to the commission will not be allowed to participate in the 2027 elections.

The Supreme Court had, in a September 24, 2026 judgment, affirmed the constitutionality of sections 77(5), 77(6) and 77(7) of the Electoral Act 2026 and upheld INEC’s revised timetable and schedule of activities for the 2027 general elections.

INEC National Commissioner for Information and Voter Education, Mohammed Haruna, spoke on the implications of the judgment while speaking on Trust TV’s Daily Politics programme on Wednesday evening.

Haruna said the affected parties would also not be allowed to substitute such candidates, arguing that parties should not benefit from violations of the law.

He said the commission was expected to make a definite pronouncement on the implications of the Supreme Court judgment by Tuesday next week.

“It’s like you committed an offence. And then, you come and benefit from it. You remember cases that we had of some in Zamfara, you remember Plateau? The same thing.

“The parties, because they did the wrong thing, they thought they could now steal through the candidates.

“And the law was very clear. Once you do that kind of thing, you cannot benefit from it. You are benefiting from it, if you are able to substitute a candidate,” he said.

According to him, depending on when the commission concludes its review, some political parties may be unable to field candidates for some elective positions.

“All the candidates, all the way to the Houses of Assembly, we interviewed them. If their names are not on the party register, they were not members of the party at the time that they contested for those tickets,” Haruna said.

He explained that the delay in INEC’s final position was due to the need to obtain legal advice after receiving the Certified True Copy of the Supreme Court judgment.

Haruna said the commission had to exercise caution because forged copies of court judgments had been presented in the past.

“You can’t be too careful with these things because even when you see copies and they tell you it’s a CTC, it may be forged. We’ve seen instances where people have even gone, have the audacity to forge a Supreme Court judgment.

“So, we have to be very careful to make sure that when you took us, we did put a lot of pressure and we were able to get it yesterday (Tuesday),” he said.

Scores of Okada riders and ticket sellers were injured during a violent clash in Akure, the state capital, following disagreements over alleged multiple levies imposed on the riders.

Report says the confrontation, which broke out in several parts of the Akure metropolis, was allegedly caused by mounting tensions over the collection of daily levies from commercial motorcycle operators.

The riders accused ticket sellers of demanding additional payments after they had already settled similar charges, leading to a breakdown of law and order in the state capital and leaving people scampering for safety.

With the development disrupting commercial motorcycle operations in some parts of the capital, the riders protested over what they described as multiple and unauthorised collections.

One of the riders, Jimoh Akindele, accused the council boss of directing ticket sellers to collect additional levies from operators despite payments already made for similar purposes.

“We see this as double taxation because we cannot imagine Hon. Fasua selling an emblem for riders in Akure South. He claimed it was meant for Akure South Local Government and they are collecting N7,000 from us as total package.”

Reacting to the allegations, Fasua denied knowledge of the controversial collections, saying the alleged emblem was not authorised by him and that no proceeds from its sale had accrued to Akure South Local Government.

Two suspected armed robbers were reportedly killed during a gun duel with the police in Lagos, while another member of the gang was arrested.

The Lagos State Commissioner of Police, Tijani Fatai, disclosed this on Wednesday while briefing journalists on the recent operational activities of the command.

Fatai said the two suspects were neutralised during a gun battle with operatives of the command’s Anti-Kidnapping Unit in the early hours of Monday.

According to the commissioner, the operation followed actionable intelligence on the activities of a suspected armed robbery gang operating in the state.

“On 4/10/2026 at about 2200hrs, operatives of the command’s Anti-Kidnapping Unit, acting on actionable intelligence concerning the activities of a suspected armed robbery gang, traced the suspects to their hideout along Gasikia Road, Ijora-Badia,” Fatai said.

He added that the suspects opened fire after sighting the police operatives, resulting in a gun duel during which two members of the gang were neutralised.

“Upon sighting the police operatives, the suspects allegedly engaged the officers in a gun duel, during which two of the suspects were neutralised, one escaped, while another, identified as Patrick Azure ‘m’, aged 26 years, was arrested,” he said.

The operation, according to the CP, resulted in the recovery of two Beretta pistols and four rounds of live 9mm ammunition.

Fatai said preliminary investigation showed that the gang was allegedly preparing to carry out a robbery operation when the police intervened.

“Preliminary investigation indicates that the gang was preparing for an operation before the intervention of the police,” he said.

He added that the command was intensifying efforts to arrest the fleeing suspect and recover more weapons allegedly used by the gang.

“Efforts are ongoing to apprehend the fleeing suspect as well as recover additional operational weapons,” the commissioner said.

Speaking with journalists, the arrested suspect identified himself as Patrick Azure, 26, from the Republic of Benin.

“My name is Patrick Azure. I am 26 years old, and I am from the Republic of Benin,” he said.

Patrick alleged that two members of the gang, identified as Azeez and ID, who were killed during the encounter with the police, had come to pick him up from his home on the day of the operation.

“On the day of the arrest, Azeez and ID, who were killed in the fight with the police, came to pick me up at home,” he said.

The suspect admitted that the gang was on its way to carry out a robbery when the police intercepted them.

“We were going for an operation when the policemen came and killed two of our members,” he said.

Patrick also claimed that he had accompanied the gang on three previous operations and was paid between N50,000 and N250,000.

“This is the third time that I am following them on an operation. They gave me between N50,000 and N250,000,” he said.