The Federal High Court in Abakaliki has, for the second time in recent years, nullified the local government elections in Ebonyi State, ruling that the July 2024 poll was conducted illegally.
In a judgment delivered on Tuesday, Justice H.I.O. Oshomah held that the election, which produced the current 13 council chairmen and councillors, failed to comply with the provisions of the Electoral Act and was therefore invalid.
The court consequently voided the elections and ordered the Ebonyi State Independent Electoral Commission (EBSIEC) and the state government not to conduct further council polls except in strict accordance with the 1999 Constitution and the Electoral Act.
Reacting to the ruling, the plaintiffs’ counsel, Hamilton Ogbodo, stated that the verdict effectively sacks all serving local government chairmen and councillors in the state.
“So, in effect, the local government election that was conducted in July 2024 in Ebonyi State is no more; it has been cancelled by this Federal High Court today,” Ogbodo said.
He urged the state government to obey the court’s decision or face contempt proceedings after the appeal window closes.
Another counsel for the plaintiffs, Chief Mudi Erhenede, highlighted that the ruling reaffirmed an earlier judgment by the late Justice Fatun Riman, which had nullified the 2022 local government elections in the state.
“This is a question of people who don’t want to believe in or obey the rule of law,” Erhenede said. “The Federal High Court had earlier nullified the 2022 local government elections, but the state, in defiance of that judgment, still went ahead to conduct and swear in chairmen in 2024. Today’s ruling has once again affirmed that illegality cannot stand.”
The judgment follows a suit filed by two plaintiffs, Mr. Samuel Udeogu and Mr. Isu Amaechi, challenging the legality of the polls conducted by EBSIEC.
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