Supreme Court Nullifies Rivers LG Election

The Supreme Court has nullified the Rivers State local government elections held on October 5, 2024, ruling that the process was illegal and violated electoral laws.

A five-member panel, led by Justice Uwani Abba-Aji, ruled unanimously in favour of the All Progressives Congress (APC), which had challenged the validity of the election.

The court overturned the 21 November 2024 judgment of the Court of Appeal in Abuja, which had upheld the elections.

Delivering the lead judgment, Justice Jamilu Tukur held that the Rivers State Independent Electoral Commission (RSIEC) failed to meet the mandatory requirements of Section 150(3) of the Electoral Act, 2010, before conducting the poll.

Previously, the Court of Appeal, led by Justice Onyekachi Otisi, ruled that the Federal High Court lacked jurisdiction over the case and criticised its decision to stop security agencies from providing election security.

However, the Supreme Court disagreed, affirming that Justice Peter Lifu of the Federal High Court acted within his jurisdiction when he ruled that RSIEC had failed to issue the mandatory 90-day notice before setting the election date.

The court also noted that the voters’ register update and revision were not completed before the elections.

As a result, the Supreme Court upheld an earlier ruling barring the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) from providing the certified voters’ register to RSIEC.

It reaffirmed that RSIEC would not use any voter register from INEC until all legal conditions were met.

With this decision, the Supreme Court has effectively invalidated the Rivers State local government election, leaving the state’s political landscape in uncertainty.

Garry Ochigbo, Edited By Grace Namiji