The Supreme Court today annulled the results of the Local Government Elections held in Rivers State on October 5, 2024, ruling in favor of an appeal filed by the All Progressives Congress (APC).
In a unanimous decision by a five-member panel led by Justice Uwani Abba-Aji, the apex court overturned the November 21, 2024, ruling of the Abuja Court of Appeal, which had upheld the elections.
Delivering the lead judgment, Justice Jamilu Tukur stated that the Rivers State Independent Electoral Commission (RSIEC) failed to meet the prerequisites outlined in Section 150(3) of the Electoral Act, 2010, before conducting the elections.
As a result, the Supreme Court reinstated an earlier ruling by the Federal High Court in Abuja, which had barred the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) from releasing the voters’ register to RSIEC for the polls.
Previously, the Court of Appeal, led by Justice Onyekachi Otisi, had ruled that the high court lacked jurisdiction over the case. It also criticized the trial court’s decision to prevent security agencies from providing protection during the elections, arguing that Section 28 of the Electoral Act applied only to federal, governorship, and FCT Area Council elections, not state-run local government polls.
Justice Peter Lifu of the Federal High Court in Abuja had initially halted the elections, citing RSIEC’s failure to comply with legal requirements. His ruling highlighted the commission’s omission to issue the mandatory 90-day notice and complete the update and revision of the voters’ register before setting the election date.
Consequently, Justice Lifu ordered INEC not to release the certified voters’ register to RSIEC until all legal requirements were met. He also barred RSIEC from using any voter register obtained from INEC for the election. The Supreme Court’s ruling on Friday upheld these directives, reinforcing the invalidation of the elections.
