The Federal High Court in Abuja has restrained the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) from handing over its voters' register to the Rivers State Government's electoral body for the upcoming local government area (LGA) elections in the state.
The court gave the order on Friday in a suit filed by the All Progressives Congress (APC), which is broadly questioning the legitimacy of local elections being planned by the Rivers State government, led by a governor from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
The Rivers State Independent Electoral Commission (RSIEC) has already scheduled October 15 for the local government elections.
In his ruling, Judge Peter Lifu also banned the police and the State Security Service (SSS) from providing security during the state's local government elections.
“An order is hereby issued directing defendants 1st to 5th to maintain the status quo ante bellum and not to do any act or take any further steps with respect to the conduct of the local government elections in Rivers State scheduled for October 5, 2024 pending the hearing and determination of the motion for notice of injunction,” the judge ordered.
PREMIUM TIMES saw a certified copy of the order on Saturday.
The order specifically restricted INEC from handing over to RSIEC and the Attorney General of Rivers State any part or the whole of the national voters register “for the use of the second and third defendants (RSIEC and the Attorney General).
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Furthermore, it prevented the 4th and 5th defendants (the police and the SSS) from “participating in or providing security protection” for the scheduled local elections.
The order, issued by the court at the behest of the All Progressives Congress (APC), adds to the persistent political crisis that has engulfed the South-South state since the advent of Governor Siminalayi Fubara, who belongs to the PDP.
In issuing the ruling, the judge ordered the APC to file within 24 hours a fresh undertaking “indemnifying RSIEC, INEC and other respondents in the event the court subsequently finds that it was misled in issuing the orders.”
It also granted an order to serve the suit on the respondents through a substituted medium by publishing all the records in The Punch and The Nation newspapers within four days from Friday.
The judge then adjourned the hearing until August 2, meaning the orders would remain in effect until then.
Defendants may respond to the complaint after it has been served on them.
Suit
The APC, the main opposition party in Rivers State, filed the ex parte application on July 18 seeking an urgent restraining order against the defendants ahead of the hearing of their substantive suit.
The party filed the main suit on July 15 to stop INEC from handing over the Rivers State voters' register to RSIEC for the conduct of the October 15 LGA elections.
He sued INEC, RSIEC, the Rivers State Attorney General, the Inspector General of Police (IGP) and the SSS, arguing that RSIEC failed to comply with legal requirements to conduct the local government elections.
The party said that while RSIEC is legally required to use the voters register compiled and maintained by INEC to conduct local government elections in Rivers State, it failed to give 360 days notice to INEC before the date of the election.
Logo of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC)
The APC Chairman in Rivers State, Tony Okocha, who swore the affidavit filed in support of the suit, said RSIEC had “belatedly” notified stakeholders of the plan to organise the election on July 1.
Mr Okocha said the RSIEC election notice came after the expiry of the tenure of the last incumbents of the offices of chairmen and councillors of the 23 LGAs in the state on June 17.
Therefore, he argued that the electoral call issued by RSIEC “is illegal, null and void due to non-compliance with the mandatory requirements of the law.”
Emergency restraining order
On July 18, APC’s legal team led by Joseph Daudu, Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), filed an ex parte motion seeking an urgent restraining order against the defendants.
The party's state chairman, Mr Okocha, said in his affidavit of support that unless urgently restrained by the court, the defendants would go ahead in violation of the provisions of the Electoral Act and the Nigerian constitution “and prejudice the rights of the plaintiffs as a duly registered political party in Nigeria”.
An attorney on the plaintiff's legal team, Sebastine Hon, also SAN, filed a motion for a temporary restraining order on Friday.
As this was an ex parte request, the defendants and their attorneys did not participate in the hearing.
The judge granted the plaintiffs' prayers after hearing from Mr Hon on Friday.
Background crisis
The local government administration has been mired in crisis as a result of the political rivalry between Governor Fubara and his predecessor, Nyesom Wike, the current Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).
Mr. Fubara dismissed the elected local government chairmen after their terms expired on June 17.
He appointed administrative heads to oversee the councils.
However, 27 state lawmakers loyal to Mr Wike amended the local government administration act to extend the tenure of chairmen by six months and stripped Governor Fubara of the power to appoint a caretaker committee.
A police officer was killed in June in Eberi-Omuma, Omuma Local Government Area of Rivers State, during a clash between rival groups loyal to Governor Fubara and Mr. Wike over the appointment of local government caretaker committees.
Due to the violent unfolding of the incident, the police have since taken control of the secretariats of all 23 local government areas in the state, preventing the newly appointed caretaker committees from assuming office.
New legal twists
The order obtained by the APC on Friday and the party's suit challenging the conduct of the local government elections in the state have introduced a new twist to the political and local government crisis in the state.
The APC claimed in its suit that RSIEC violated provisions of the Electoral Act and the Nigerian constitution that require state electoral bodies to give 360 days notice to INEC before any election.
The party said the notice would have allowed INEC to stop continuous voter registration and update the register at least 90 days before the election.
The APC also argued that the law allows political parties to conduct primary elections and submit the list of their nominated candidates not later than 180 days before the election. Since the RSIEC violated the law by failing to give adequate notice, it has become impossible for INEC and political parties to comply with other legal requirements that concern them.
The party argued that RSIEC failed to comply with the law when it requested INEC to publish a copy of the Rivers State Voters Register.
The party said INEC is still conducting continuous registration and updating the National Voters Register, including in Rivers State. Continuous registration has not stopped and INEC has also not received the 360-day notification, the party said.
The APC asked the court to, among other things, declare that INEC is not authorized to compile, certify and deliver the voters' register to RSIEC unless it has received notice of the election 360 days before the proposed date and has ceased continuous registration and updating of the register at least 90 days before the date of the election.
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The APC further argued that the Rivers State voters' register, which is continuously updated by INEC, cannot be handed over to RSIEC for local government elections as this would violate mandatory provisions of the law and the constitution.
The party urged the court to strike down relevant provisions of the Rivers State Electoral Commission Act No. 2 of 2018, which the RSIEC relied on to issue the election notice. The APC claimed that those relevant parts of the state law are inconsistent with the Nigerian Constitution and the Electoral Act.
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