Court bars INEC from releasing voters register to Rivers electoral commission

The Federal High Court in Abuja has barred the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) from releasing its voter register to the Rivers State Government’s electoral body for the state’s upcoming local government area (LGA) elections.

The court gave the order on Friday in a suit filed by the All Progressives Congress (APC), which broadly challenges the legitimacy of the local elections being planned by the Rivers State Government led by a Peoples Democratic (PDP) governor.

The Rivers State Independent Electoral Commission (RSIEC) has already scheduled 15 October for the local government elections.

In his ruling, the judge, Peter Lifu, also barred the police and the State Security Service (SSS) from providing security for the state’s local government elections.

“An order is hereby made directing the 1st to the 5th defendants to maintain the status quo ante bellum and not to do any act or take any further steps towards the conduct of the Local Government Election in Rivers State slated for 5 October 2024 pending the hearing and determination of the Motion on Notice for interlocutory injunction,” the judge ordered.

PREMIUM TIMES saw a certified copy of the order on Saturday.

The order specifically restrained INEC from releasing to the RSIEC and the Rivers State Attorney-General a part or the whole of the national register of voters “for use by the 2nd and 3rd defendants (RSIEC and the Attorney-General”.

In addition, it restrained the 4th and 5th defendants (the police and the SSS) “from participating in or providing security protection” for the scheduled local government election.

The order, issued by the court at the instance of the All Progressives Congress (APC), adds to the lingering political crisis that has engulfed the South-south state since the coming on board of the administration of Governor Siminalayi Fubara, who belongs to the PDP.

In giving the ruling, the judge directed the APC to file within 24 hours a fresh undertaking” indemnifying the RSIEC, the INEC and other defendants in case the court later discovers that it was misled to issue the orders.

He also granted an order to serve the suit on the defendants through a substituted means by publishing all the filings in The Punch and The Nation newspapers within four days as from Friday.

The judge then adjourned further hearing till 2 August, implying that the orders would be in force until then.

The defendants will be able to respond to the suit after it is served on them.

Suit

The APC, the main opposition party in Rivers State, filed the ex parte application on 18 July to seek an urgent restraining order against the defendants before the hearing of its substantive suit.

The party filed the main suit on 15 July to stop INEC from releasing the register of voters in Rivers State to RSIEC for the conduct of the 15 October LGA elections.

It sued INEC, RSIEC, the Attorney-General of Rivers State, the Inspector-General of Police (IGP) and the SSS, arguing that RSIEC failed to fulfil legal requirements to conduct the local government election.

The party said that while RSIEC is legally bound to use the voter register compiled and kept by INEC for conducting local government elections in Rivers State, it failed to give a 360-day notice to INEC before the election date.

APC’s chairperson in Rivers State, Tony Okocha, who swore to the affidavit filed in support of the suit, contended that RSIEC “belatedly” notified stakeholders about the plan to organise the election on 1 July.

Mr Okocha said the RSIEC’s election notice came after the expiration of the tenure of the last holders of the offices of chairpersons and councillors of the 23 LGAs in the state on 17 June.

Therefore, he argued that the election notice issued by RSIEC “is unlawful, null and void for non-compliance with the mandatory requirements of the law.”

Urgent restraining order

On 18 July, APC’s legal team led by Joseph Daudu, a 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 supporting affidavit that unless urgently restrained by the court, the defendants would go ahead to violate 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.”

A lawyer in the plaintiff’s legal team, Sebastine Hon, also a SAN, moved the motion for an interim restraining order on Friday.

Being an ex parte application, the defendants and their lawyers did not participate in the hearing.

The judge granted the plaintiffs’ prayers after listening to Mr Hon on Friday.

Background crisis

The local government administration has been embroiled in a crisis as an offshoot of the political rivalry between Governor Fubara and his predecessor, Nyesom Wike, the current Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).

Mr Fubara dissolved the elected local government chairpersons after their terms expired on 17 June.

He appointed administrative heads to oversee the councils.

However, 27 state lawmakers, loyal to Mr Wike, amended the local government administration law to extend the chairpersons’ tenure 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 in Omuma Local Government Area of Rivers State during a clash between rival groups beholden to Governor Fubara and Mr Wike in the aftermath of the appointment of local government caretaker committees.

Due to the violent development, the police have since taken over the secretariats of the 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 state’s local government elections have introduced a new twist to the local government and political crisis in the state.

The APC contended in its suit that RSIEC breached the provisions of the Electoral Act and the Nigerian constitution requiring state election bodies to give a 360-day notice to INEC before any election.

The party said the notice would have enabled INEC to stop the continuous voter registration and update the register at least 90 days before the election.

The APC also argued that the law permits political parties to conduct primaries and submit the list of their nominated candidates no later than 180 days before the election. Since RSIEC breached the law by failing to give adequate notice, it has become impossible for INEC and political parties to meet other legal requirements concerning them.

The party argued that RSIEC failed to adhere to the law when it applied to INEC to release a copy of the Register of Voters for Rivers State.

It said INEC was still conducting continuous registration and updating the National Register of Voters, including for Rivers State. The continuous registration has not been stopped, nor did INEC receive the 360-day notice, the party said.

The APC prayed the court to, among others, declare that INEC is not authorised to compile, certify, and release the voter register to RSIEC unless it had received notice of the election 360 days before the proposed date and ceased continuous registration and updating of the register at least 90 days before the election date.

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The APC further argued that the voter register in Rivers State, which is under continuous update by the INEC, cannot be released to RSIEC for local government elections, as this would violate the mandatory provisions of the law and the constitution.

The party urged the court to nullify the relevant provisions of the Rivers State Electoral Commission Law No. 2 of 2018, which RSIEC relied on to issue the notice of election. The APC said such relevant parts of the state law are inconsistent with the Nigerian constitution and the Electoral Act.

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