On Friday, the Supreme Court ruled that the October 5, 2024, local government election in Rivers state, which was won by the All Peoples Party, or APP, was unlawful, void, and unconstitutional.
The Supreme Court ruled that the election was void since the Rivers State Electoral Commission had abandoned all of the precedent-billed requirements.In particular, the main verdict’s author, Justice Jamilu Tukur, ruled that the council poll was held in flagrant contravention of section 150 of the Electoral Act 2022.
Federal High Court in Abuja had on September 30, 2024 prevented the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, from giving voters record to the Rivers State Independent Electoral Commission, RSIEC, for the purpose of conducting the October 5, 2024 local government elections in the state.
Additionally, the court prohibited the Department of the State Services (DSS) and the Inspector General of Police (IGP) from providing protection.
While rendering a decision in a case that the All Progressives Congress, or APC, had filed before him, Justice Peter Lifu issued the order against INEC.
A group of attorneys led by SANs Joseph Daudu, Sebastine Hon., and Ogwu James Onoja argued the case on behalf of the APC.
Judge Lifu ruled that the RSIEC erred in scheduling the polling of the 23 local governments for October 5, 2024, when all applicable election-related laws had not been followed.
The judge ruled, among other things, that the Rivers electoral board had broken the local government election conduct rules by failing to publish the required 90-day notice prior to setting the date.
Additionally, Justice Peter Lifu ruled that before an election date could be legally set and its legitimacy established, the voter registration process should have been completed.
Therefore, the judge directed INEC to hold off on providing RSIEC access to the certified voter register until the law has been completely complied with.
Additionally, Justice Peter Lifu prohibited RSIEC from utilizing any voter registrations obtained from INEC for the local government election scheduled for October 5, 2024.
