A Federal High Court in the FCT, has ruled that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) cannot release the 2023 voter register to the Rivers State Independent Electoral Commission (RSIEC) for the local government elections, scheduled for October 5, 2024.

The judgment came after the All Progressives Congress (APC) filed a suit, marked FHC/ABJ/CS/987/2024, seeking to prevent the release of the voter register.

The APC argued that the voter register update must conclude at least 90 days before the election, as stipulated by law, and that RSIEC had not met all legal conditions for the conduct of the elections.

Presiding Judge, Peter Lifu agreed with the APC’s arguments, barring RSIEC from using any voter register provided by INEC for the poll. The court also prohibited the Inspector-General of Police and the Department of State Services (DSS) from providing security for the elections.

Judge Lifu criticized RSIEC for setting an election date without adhering to the mandatory 90-day notice period required by local government election law. He ruled that the update and revision of the voter register should have been finalized before scheduling the election.

As a result, the court ordered INEC to withhold the certified voter register until RSIEC fully complies with all relevant election laws.