On Tuesday, Justice Peter Lifu of the Federal High Court in Abuja adjourned the hearing in a suit filed by the All Progressives Congress (APC) against the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) concerning the Rivers State Local Government election to September 5.
The adjournment allows the plaintiff to serve court documents on the Inspector General of Police and other defendants.
The court session, which was lengthy, reviewed three applications, including requests to join additional parties as co-defendants.
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APC’s suit, marked FHC/ABJ/CS/987/2024, seeks a declaration that INEC must manage and revise the voter register in compliance with the Electoral Act 2022, halting continuous voter registration (CVR) at least 90 days before the election.
APC also seeks to invalidate Sections 13 and 20 of the RSIEC Law No. 2 of 2018 and any actions taken by defendants that violate electoral laws.
APC argues that RSIEC failed to meet legal requirements, including giving a 360-day notice to INEC and stopping CVR.
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They contend RSIEC breached the Electoral Act and the Constitution by not using INEC’s voter register and failing to follow legal procedures.
Controversy has arisen with the appearance of multiple Senior Advocates of Nigeria representing APC, including Dr. James Onoja Ogwu and Gordy Uche.
In a prior ruling on July 19, Justice Lifu had restrained INEC from releasing voter registers to RSIEC and barred the IGP and DSS from providing security for the election.
He ordered all parties to maintain the status quo until the substantive suit is resolved.
