The Court of Appeal, Abuja, on Thursday, nullified the judgment of the Federal High Court in Abuja, delivered by Justice Peter Lifu, which barred the Independent National Electoral Commission from releasing voters register to the River State Independent Electoral Commission for the conduct of the state local government polls which has now been conducted.
Recall that Justice I. Igwe of the Rivers State high court in Port Harcourt had, in a judgment delivered on September 4, ordered RSIEC to conduct the Rivers local government elections in the state using the 2023 voters’ register.
The court also mandated the Nigeria Police Force and the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Force to provide necessary protection during the election process.
The judge held that the defendants are bound by Section 7, sub-section 1 of the Constitution and Section 5 (A) of the RSIEC Law Number 2 of 2018 to make provisions and conduct the local government polls within the shortest possible time, especially following the expiration of the tenure of the former elected officials on June 17.
The court also cited as a necessity the recent decision of the Federal Government mandating states without democratically elected local government to do so within three months, following the judgement of the Supreme Court on local government autonomy.
Meanwhile, Justice Lifu of the Federal High Court in Abuja, in a judgment on a similar suit brought before the court, barred INEC from releasing voters register to RSIEC for the conduct of the October 5 local government polls in the state.
Justice Lifu, while delivering judgment in the suit brought before him by the All Progressive Congress in the state, faulted RSIEC for fixing October 5 as the date for the conduct of the poll when all relevant laws guiding the election had not been complied with.
He held that “the Rivers State electoral body violated provisions of the local government election conduct law by not publishing the mandatory 90 days notice before fixing the date”.
The judge also held that the update and revision of voters’ registers ought to have been concluded before an election date can be legally and validly fixed in law.
He, therefore, ordered INEC not to release the certified voters’ register to RSIEC until the law has been fully complied with.
The judge also barred RSIEC from accepting any voter register from INEC or using it for the purpose of the October 5 local government poll.
The Court further barred the Inspector General of Police and the Department of the State Service from providing security for the conduct of the election.
The special panel of the Appeal Court led by Justice Onyekachi Otisi, while delivering judgment in the appeal on Thursday, held that the lower court lacked the jurisdiction to entertain the suit as 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.
The panel stated that the “Electoral Act is not applicable to local government election and the lower court lacks jurisdiction to entertain the appeal”.
The panel further stated that the lower court was wrong to have ordered security agencies not to carry out their constitutional duties.
The Rivers local government judgment appeal is amongst a series of appeals filed before the appellate court by the aggrieved parties against some judgments delivered by the FHC that they were dissatisfied with.
The Appeal Court President set up a special panel to preside over the appeals.
