Court Stop INEC from releasing Voters Register to Rivers State Independent Electoral Commission

In a significant ruling on Monday, a Federal High Court in Abuja has once again prohibited the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) from releasing the voters’ register to the Rivers State Independent Electoral Commission (RSIEC) for the upcoming local government elections scheduled for October 5, 2024.

The court’s decision, delivered by Justice Peter Lifu, also restricts the Inspector General of Police (IGP) and the Department of State Services (DSS) from providing security for the local government elections. This ruling follows a suit brought before the court by the All Progressives Congress (APC), which argued that the election date was improperly set.

The APC’s case was presented by a team of senior legal practitioners, including Joseph Daudu, Sebastine Hon, and Ogwu James Onoja, all Senior Advocates of Nigeria (SANs). Justice Lifu ruled that the RSIEC acted unlawfully by scheduling the elections without adhering to the relevant legal requirements.

Among the violations identified by the court was RSIEC’s failure to publish the mandatory 90 days’ notice prior to fixing the election date, as mandated by local government election conduct laws. Justice Lifu emphasized that the updating and revision of the voters’ register must be completed before an election date can be lawfully established.

Consequently, the court ordered INEC not to make the certified voters’ register available to RSIEC until all legal requirements have been fulfilled. Additionally, RSIEC has been barred from accepting any voters’ register from INEC or using it for the purposes of the October 5 local government elections.