The Supreme Court has scheduled February 10th to rule on two appeals filed by the All Progressives Congress (APC) concerning the legitimacy of local government elections conducted in Rivers State last year. The APC is challenging the Court of Appeal's decision that overturned an earlier injunction issued by the Federal High Court, which had sought to prevent the elections on grounds of procedural irregularities.
The Supreme Court has set February 10th to decide on two lawsuits filed by the All Progressives Congress ( APC ) challenging the legality of local government elections held in Rivers State last year. The Apex Court reached this decision on Tuesday after resolving all preliminary issues raised by the parties involved in the legal dispute.
A five-member panel of Justices led by Justice Musa Uwani Aba-Aji, after addressing all motions concerning the two appeals, directed lawyers representing both sides to submit their respective arguments for and against the case before the adjourned date. A Federal High Court in Abuja had previously issued an order preventing the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) from releasing the voter register to the Rivers State Independent Electoral Commission (RSIEC) for the purpose of conducting the Council elections. Justice Peter Lifu, who issued the order, based his decision on the grounds that the necessary preconditions for these elections had not been met by the Rivers Local Government Electoral Commission. Justice Lifu also prohibited the Inspector General of Police (IGP) and the Director General of the Department of State Security Service (DSS) from participating in or providing security for any local government election in Rivers State. The Judge further barred RSIEC and the State Attorney General from accepting the voter register from INEC or using any portion of it for conducting any local government elections. Justice Lifu's judgment stemmed from the APC's suit marked FHC/ABJ/CS/987/2024. However, the Court of Appeal in Abuja overturned Justice Lifu's decisions, ruling that his court lacked jurisdiction to issue the orders in favor of the APC. Dissatisfied with the Court of Appeal's verdict, the APC filed two separate appeals, marked SC/CV/1106/2024 and SC/CV/1106/2024, requesting the Supreme Court to reverse the Court of Appeal's judgment and reinstate the Federal High Court's ruling in their favor. During Tuesday's proceedings, Joseph Bodunde Daudu and Ogwu James Onoja, both Senior Advocates of Nigeria (SANs), represented the APC, alongside other lawyers. Chris Uche SAN, accompanied by several counsel, represented the respondents in the matter
SUPREME COURT RIVERS STATE LOCAL GOVERNMENT ELECTIONS APC INEC COURT OF APPEAL
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