Court Reserves Judgment in APC’s Suit Against INEC Over Rivers LG Election

A Federal High Court in Abuja has reserved judgment in the suit filed by the All Progressives Congress (APC) against the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) concerning the conduct of the local government election in Rivers State. The court, presided over by Justice Peter Lifu, will communicate the judgment date to the parties after hearing the arguments and submissions from both sides.

The APC seeks a court declaration that INEC can only release the voter register to the Rivers State Independent Electoral Commission (RSIEC) in strict compliance with the 1999 Constitution and the Electoral Act of 2022. The party also argues that the condition for conducting the local government elections had not been fulfilled by RSIEC.

The court considered several preliminary applications, including motions for joinder by the Social Democratic Party (SDP) and Boot Party, as well as a motion for discontinuance by the Rivers chapter of the APC. INEC and the Attorney General of Rivers State, represented by their counsels, challenged the jurisdiction of the Abuja court and argued that the suit was statute-barred, asserting that the matter should be heard in the Rivers division of the Federal High Court.

Justice Lifu will deliver judgment at a later date.