Supreme Court nullifies Rivers LG polls
By Jeffrey Agbo
The Supreme Court has annulled the Local Government Elections held in Rivers State on October 5, 2024.
In a unanimous ruling on Friday by a five-member panel led by Justice Uwani Abba-Aji, the apex court upheld an appeal filed by the All Progressives Congress (APC), overturning the November 21, 2024, judgment of the Court of Appeal in Abuja, which had validated the elections.
Delivering the lead judgment, Justice Jamilu Tukur stated that there was no evidence proving that the prerequisites outlined in Section 150(3) of the Electoral Act, 2010, were met before the Rivers State Independent Electoral Commission (RSIEC) conducted the election.
The Supreme Court reinstated an earlier ruling by the Federal High Court in Abuja, which had barred the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) from providing the voters’ register to RSIEC for the polls.
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A special panel of the Court of Appeal, led by Justice Onyekachi Otisi, had previously ruled that the high court lacked jurisdiction over the case and faulted its decision to prevent security agencies from providing security during the elections. The appellate court held that Section 28 of the Electoral Act applies only to federal elections, governorship elections, and Area Council elections in the Federal Capital Territory, not state-conducted elections.
Justice Peter Lifu of the Federal High Court had initially halted the Rivers LG elections based on an APC suit, citing RSIEC’s failure to adhere to legal requirements, including the mandatory 90-day notice before scheduling the polls. He also ruled that the voters’ register update and revision should have been completed before setting an election date.
As a result, the Supreme Court upheld Justice Lifu’s decision, barring INEC from providing RSIEC with the certified voters’ register and preventing RSIEC from using any voter register for the election until all legal conditions were met.
