The court has barred INEC from releasing the voters register for the Rivers LG elections. Find out what this means for the electoral process.
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has been restrained by the Federal High Court in Abuja from providing the Rivers State Independent Electoral Commission (RSIEC) with voter registers, which would have enabled them to conduct local government elections within the state.
The All Progressives Congress (APC) secured an interim injunction against INEC as Justice Peter Lifu ruled in favor of their ex-parte motion.
On behalf of the APC, a team of seasoned lawyers including Joseph Daudu, Sebastine Hon and Ogwu James Onoja all SANs filed an ex-parte motion. The application was lodged under Section 13 of the Federal High Court Act along with Order 26 Rules 1 and 3 as well as Order28 rules1and2 pursuant to section6ofthe1999Constitution which confers inherent jurisdiction on the court.
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The judges directed that the Rivers Electoral Commission and the Rivers Attorney-General refrain from obtaining or utilizing any segment of the National Voter’s Register pertaining to Rivers State for carrying out local government elections within said state.
In like manner, Justice Lifu prohibited the Inspector General of Police (IGP) and the Department of State Service (DSS) from involvement in or furnishing security coverage for Rivers State Electoral Commission’s execution of local government polls within the state.
Furthermore, the judge released a separate directive instructing INEC, Rivers State Electoral Commission, AG Rivers State, IGP and DSS to uphold the previous state of affairs and refrain from engaging in any action or proceeding with regards to organizing local government elections in Rivers State.
The temporary rulings will continue to be valid until the final decision of the main case, where the APC is contesting the legality of election proceedings held in different localities within Rivers.
Justice Lifu stipulated that as a condition for granting the interim restraining orders, APC must promise to compensate the five defendants if their lawsuit was deemed baseless and if they should not have been subjected to these restrictions in the first place.
Justice Lifu approved alternative ways of delivering the court orders and proceedings to the five accused individuals, which involved publishing them in two prominent national newspapers. This was done prior to the rescheduled date so as to garner their attention.
The judge scheduled August 2nd as the date for all defendants to attend a hearing regarding the substantive issue.
Tony Okocha, the acting chairman of Rivers APC, stated in a 13-paragraph affidavit that defendants were served with originating summons. This was due to INEC’s noncompliance with provisions outlined in the Electoral Act regarding voter registration management intended for release to be used during local government elections by the electoral body of River State. Such actions are deemed as violating both the Constitution and Electoral Act from 1999 according to Mr. Okocha’s statement under oath.
The deponent declared that only INEC is authorized to compile, maintain, update and store the voter register necessary for conducting local government elections in Rivers state. Accordingly, SIEC has no right to develop or possess a separate voters’ register.
The acting chairman of APC emphasized that their petition and motion are awaiting a hearing in court. In light of this, it is crucial to take preventative measures by restraining the defendants from interfering with or squandering the core case until after the motion has been resolved.
He further claimed that the APC in Rivers State filed this application for the protection of justice and to maintain the previous state of affairs while preserving the essential issue.
Moreover, the deponent committed to being liable for any damages determined by the court if it is deemed that the request for a temporary restraining order was groundless and lacking in merit.
All five accused individuals have been instructed to attend court on August 2 and provide their individual responses.
