A Federal High Court in Abuja has once again ordered the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to withhold the voters’ register from the Rivers State Independent Electoral Commission (RSIEC). The court’s decision directly affects the conduct of the local government election scheduled for October 5, 2024, placing the entire process in jeopardy.
Presiding over the case, Justice Peter Lifu delivered the ruling on Monday, responding to a lawsuit filed by the All Progressives Congress (APC). The APC, represented by a group of senior lawyers including Joseph Daudu, Sebastine Hon, and Ogwu James Onoja (all Senior Advocates of Nigeria, SAN), sought to stop the election, citing non-compliance with electoral laws.
Justice Lifu ruled that RSIEC was wrong to schedule the election for October 5, as it had failed to meet the required legal conditions. Specifically, the judge pointed out that the Rivers State electoral body did not follow the stipulation of publishing a mandatory 90-day notice before the election. This is a key requirement under the local government election conduct law, and its omission rendered the election’s scheduling legally invalid.
Additionally, Justice Lifu noted that the process of updating and revising the voters’ register was not completed before setting an election date. The court ruled that an election date could only be legally fixed after the voters’ register had been properly updated, reviewed, and certified by INEC.
As a result of the ruling, the court ordered INEC not to provide the certified voters’ register to RSIEC. Furthermore, RSIEC was barred from receiving or using any voters’ register from INEC for the October 5 election. The court also instructed the Inspector General of Police (IGP) and the Department of State Services (DSS) not to provide security for the election as long as the legal requirements were not met.
This ruling throws the planned local government elections into uncertainty, with legal and procedural hurdles yet to be cleared. The court’s decision underscores the need for strict compliance with electoral laws to ensure the legitimacy of the election process.
The APC’s legal challenge has significantly impacted the timeline of the election, and it remains to be seen whether RSIEC will be able to address these legal issues in time or if the election will be postponed to a later date.
