Justice Ahmed Mohammed of the Federal High Court in Abuja has given leaders of the Youth Democratic Party a 24 hours ultimatum to retract the misrepresentation of the judgment he delivered on March 4, 2015 or risk contempt.

In the judgment which was misinterpreted by the party, the court ordered the Independent National Electoral Commission to register ‎YDP as a political party but the party officials went ahead to tell the press that the court also ordered that the party be allowed to participate in the forthcoming elections or postpone them.

Justice Mohammed, who also on Monday ordered the party officials to file an affidavit of compliance, threatened to jail them if they failed to carry out his directives.

The judge had on March 12, summoned the party officials to appear in court on Monday to explain how they came about the court pronouncement ordering their inclusion in the polls.

‎Justice Mohammed, in a bench ruling after listening to the party's counsel, Kelvin Nwofo, SAN, and INEC's lawyer, Mr. Wole Balogun,  ruled that a case of contempt had been established against the party officials from the two affidavits filed by them.

He however held that because the court was not out to unnecessarily  join issues with anybody and that in view of plea for mercy by the party's lawyer, he would "reluctantly temper justice with mercy."

‎The court ruled, "It is clear that the court did not order to include them in the ballot papers or to shift the elections.