Court voids Ebonyi council elections

From Chinedu Nwafor Abakaliki

Federal High Court sitting in Abakaliki, Ebonyi State Capital, has voided the July 30th 2022 local government council elections held in Ebonyi State.

The nullification is coming barely few days to the swearing-in of the newly elected Council Chairmen and Councilors, fixed for 1st  September 2022.

The judgment is sequel to a suit no.FHC/AI/CS/151/2022, filed by one Otu Collins Eleri and three others, challenging the conduct of the council elections.

The Independent National Electoral Commission, Ebonyi State Independent Electoral Commission, and government of Ebonyi State were listed as 1st to 3rd Respondents in the suit.

The plaintiffs had prayed the court to among other things declare as undemocratic and unlawful the council elections having failed to avail them with the exact laws used to regulate the conduct of the exercise, in line with the Electoral Act 2022.

Justice Fatun Riman in his ruling on Thursday agreed with the Plaintiffs and consequently nullified the exercise.

Recall that the All Progressives Congress (APC) won all the Chairmanship and councilorship positions.

Counsel to the Plaintiffs, Barrister Mudi Erhenede, in a telephone interview, hailed the judgement.

According to him, it is undemocratic and unlawful to conduct an election into the local government areas or council without availing the plaintiffs with the exact law that is meant to regulate the exercise.

“There are alot of other issues with non compliance with the Electorial act 2022. The Electoral Act 2022, states that the procedures for conducting elections into the local government areas by the State Electoral Commission must comply with the procedures set for conducting such elections into area councils in the FCT,” Erhenede said.

He accused Ebonyi State government of hiding the law that it used in the conduct of the council elections, contrary to the Electoral laws 2022.

“If you look at it, how do we assess compliance if you hide the law with which you want to conduct the elections? is it not when you make the law public that we will know whether you complied with it or not, how can you be making laws and hiding them?”, he queried.

“My position now is that my clients demanded to be availed of this law, we came under the Freedom of Information Act. We wrote to EBSIEC, we wrote the House of Assembly,we wrote to INEC,but all of these bodies refused to provide us the law,”, he added.

Reacting, Governor David Umahi said it was curious that  the judge nullified the elections even when the Plaintiffs never prayed the court to do so.

In a statement by his Special Assistant on Media and Strategy, Mr Chooks Oko, on Thursday, the Governor, however, called for calm and urged Ebonyians to go about their lawful businesses.

While expressing hope in the judiciary,

Gov Umahi said his Lawyers would study the judgement to determine the best way forward.

The statement reads:”The attention of the Executive Governor of Ebonyi State, Engr David N. Umahi has been drawn to the curious ruling of the Federal High Court sitting in Abakaliki Thursday nullifying the July 30, 2022 Local Government elections held across the state.

“It is on record that none of the grounds of the litigants included nullification of the election but the court bizarrely came up with such an order.

“The election, generally acknowledged as peaceful and orderly, produced our incoming leaders at the local government level having followed all laid-down procedures to the letter.

“Being law-abiding, the Governor enjoins all Ebonyians to go about their businesses peacefully while our Lawyers study the judgement to determine the best way forward.

“His belief in the judiciary as the bastion of justice and equity remains unshaken.”