The Supreme Court nullified the outcome of the Local Government Elections held in Rivers State on 5 October 2024.
In a unanimous ruling by a five-member panel led by Justice Uwani Abba-Aji, the apex court upheld an appeal lodged by the All Progressives Congress (APC), vacating the Abuja Division of the Court of Appeal’s judgment from 21 November 2024, which had validated the elections.
Delivering the lead judgement, Justice Jamilu Tukur stated that there was insufficient evidence to demonstrate that the prerequisites outlined in section 150(3) of the Electoral Act 2010 were met prior to the Rivers State Independent Electoral Commission’s (RSIEC) conduct of the elections.
The Supreme Court reinstated an earlier ruling by the Federal High Court in Abuja that prohibited the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) from supplying the voters’ register to the RSIEC for the local government elections.
It is important to note that a special panel of the Court of Appeal, led by Justice Onyekachi Otisi, had previously concluded that the high court lacked jurisdiction to hear the case regarding the Rivers State local government elections. Furthermore, the appellate court critiqued the trial court for restricting security agencies from providing protection during the elections.
According to the appellate court, section 28 of the Electoral Act pertains only to federal elections, governorship elections, and Area Council elections in the Federal Capital Territory, and does not apply to state-conducted elections.
The court determined that Justice Peter Lifu of the Federal High Court exceeded his jurisdiction when he ruled in favour of the APC’s lawsuit, halting the Rivers State local government elections. Justice Lifu based his decision on the RSIEC’s failure to adhere strictly to the relevant laws governing the election, as it scheduled polls in the 23 local government areas without providing the mandatory 90-day notice beforehand.
He also asserted that the updating and revision of the voters’ register needed to be completed before any valid election date could be announced. Consequently, Justice Lifu ordered INEC not to release the certified voters’ register to RSIEC until all legal requirements were fulfilled. He additionally prohibited RSIEC from accepting any voter register from INEC or using it for the local government polls, a decision that the Supreme Court upheld on Friday.
