Justice Peter Lifu of the Federal High Court in Abuja has once again blocked the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) from providing the voters’ register to the Rivers State Independent Electoral Commission (RSIEC) for the local government elections scheduled for October 5, 2024.
Delivering his ruling on a suit filed by the All Progressives Congress (APC), Justice Lifu criticized RSIEC for setting the election date without adhering to the required legal framework. He noted that the commission failed to give the mandatory 90-day notice before scheduling the election and had not completed the updating and revision of the voters’ register.
The court ordered INEC not to release the certified voters’ register until all legal procedures are fulfilled. Additionally, the judge barred RSIEC from accepting any voters’ register from INEC and prohibited the Inspector General of Police and the Department of State Services (DSS) from providing security for the election.
This ruling follows an earlier decision in July, where Justice Lifu issued a temporary order against INEC and the security agencies.
