The Appeal Court has nullified the judgment on the Rivers State local government election, raising questions about the next steps for the polls.
The Court of Appeal in Abuja has overturned the Federal High Court’s decision that had prevented the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) from providing the voters’ register to the Rivers State Independent Electoral Commission for conducting local government elections, which have already taken place.
In delivering its judgment, the special panel led by Justice Onyekachi Otisi declared that the lower court lacked jurisdiction to address the matter. This decision was based on Section 28 of the Electoral Act, which applies solely to federal elections and governorship and area council elections in the Federal Capital Territory—not state-conducted elections.
The appellate court further concluded that the lower court erred in directing security agencies not to perform their constitutional responsibilities.
Justice Peter Lifu of the Federal High Court delivered a judgment in a case, criticizing RSIEC for setting October 5 as the election date without following the applicable laws governing election conduct.
He determined that the Rivers State electoral body breached the local government election law by not issuing the required 90-day notice prior to setting the election date.
The judge also stated that the voters’ register needed to be updated and revised before setting a legally valid election date.
He subsequently directed INEC to withhold the release of the Certified Voters’ Register from RSIEC until all legal requirements were fulfilled.
This appeal is one of several submitted by dissatisfied parties challenging specific judgments from the Federal High Court in Abuja.
A special panel of the Court of Appeal, established to rule on political cases in River State and chaired by Justice Onyekachi Otisi, has reserved its decision on the consolidated appeals challenging the judgment made by Justice Peter Lifu.
