The Court of Appeal in Abuja has nullified a Federal High Court ruling that barred the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) from releasing the voters’ register to the Rivers State Independent Electoral Commission (RSIEC) for the conduct of local government elections in the state. Notably, the elections have already been conducted despite the legal tussle.
Delivering the appellate court’s judgment, a special panel led by Justice Onyekachi Otisi declared that the Federal High Court lacked the jurisdiction to preside over the matter.
The panel emphasized that “Section 28 of the Electoral Act does not cover elections conducted by states, only federal elections, governorship, and area council elections in the Federal Capital Territory.”
Furthermore, the appellate court criticized the lower court for directing security agencies not to perform their constitutional responsibilities.
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This development stemmed from an earlier judgment delivered by Justice Peter Lifu of the Federal High Court in Abuja. Justice Lifu had ruled in favor of parties opposing RSIEC, citing that the state electoral body violated the provisions of the local government election law. Specifically, he noted that RSIEC failed to provide the mandatory 90-day notice required before scheduling the election date of October 5.
Justice Lifu held that “the updating and revision of the voters’ register should have been completed before a legally valid election date could be set.” As a result, the judge had ordered INEC to withhold the Certified Voters’ Register from RSIEC until all legal conditions were met.
The appeal by RSIEC is one of several brought by aggrieved parties challenging various judgments from the Federal High Court in Abuja regarding political matters in Rivers State.
The Court of Appeal, with its special panel led by Justice Onyekachi Otisi, had reserved judgment on the consolidated appeals before ultimately overturning the Federal High Court’s decision.
