A Federal High Court in Abuja has once again halted the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) from releasing the voters’ register to the Rivers State Independent Electoral Commission (RSIEC) for the upcoming local government election scheduled for October 5, 2024.
The court’s decision, delivered by Justice Peter Lifu, also prohibits the Inspector General of Police (IGP) and the Department of State Services (DSS) from providing security for the election. The ruling stems from a suit filed by the All Progressives Congress (APC), represented by a team of senior lawyers including Joseph Daudu, Sebastine Hon, and Ogwu James Onoja, all SANs.
Justice Lifu found that RSIEC acted unlawfully by setting the October 5 date for the elections without adhering to relevant legal requirements. Specifically, the judge pointed out that RSIEC failed to publish the mandatory 90-day notice prior to fixing the election date, violating local government election conduct laws.
Additionally, the judge noted that the update and revision of the voters’ register must be completed before any election date can be legally established. Consequently, he ordered INEC to refrain from providing the certified voters’ register to RSIEC until all legal requirements have been fulfilled, and barred RSIEC from utilizing any voters’ register from INEC for the October 5 local government elections.
