The Supreme Court on Tuesday, February 10, 2025 decided two petitions filed before it by the All Progressives Congress (APC) challenging the legality or otherwise of the elections held for Local Government Areas (LGAs) in Rivers State last year.
The Supreme Court fixed the date after clarifying all the preliminary issues raised by the parties involved in the matter.
A five-member panel of judges of the Court headed by Justice Musa Uwani Aba-Aji, after resolving all motions in respect of the two appeals, ordered the parties to file and exchange their respective briefs of argument in favor and in against before the next postponed date.
It may be recalled that last year a Federal High Court in Abuja issued an order restraining the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) from handing over the voters' register to the Rivers State Independent Electoral Commission (RSIEC) for the conduct of the elections. Advice.
The trial judge, Peter Lifu, who issued the order, based his decision on the failure of the Rivers Local Government Electoral Commission to follow the conditions precedent for such elections.
Justice Lifu also prohibited the Inspector General of Police (IGP) and the Director General of the Department of State Service (DSS) from participating in or providing security protection in any local government election in Rivers State.
The judge, in the ruling on the APC's suit, marked FHC/ABJ/CS/987/2024, also prohibited the RSIEC and the State Attorney General from accepting INEC voter registrations or using any part of the registration for the from any local government survey. .
However, the Abuja Divisional Court of Appeal quashed and set aside Judge Lifu's decisions on the basis that his court lacked jurisdiction to make the orders it had made in favor of the APC.
Not satisfied with the verdict of the Court of Appeal, the APC filed two separate appeals marked SC/CV/1106/2024 and SC/CV/1106/2024 asking the Supreme Court to reverse the judgment of the Court of Appeal and reinstate that of the Court Federal. The Superior Court ruled in his favor.
In Tuesday's proceedings, Joseph Bodunde Daudu and Ogwu James Onoja, both Senior Counsel of Nigeria (SAN), represented the APC along with other lawyers, while Chris Uche, SAN, accompanied by several lawyers, represented the respondents in the affair.