Court Stops INEC From Conducting Election Into 27 Defected Rivers Lawmakers’ Seat

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has been ordered by a Federal High Court in Abuja to hold new elections in order to fill the seats of the 27 members of the Rivers House of Assembly who left the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and joined the All Progressives Congress (APC).

Peter Onuh, the lawyer for the MPs who defected, filed an ex-parte motion, and Justice Donatus Okorowo rendered the decision on Friday, December 15, 2023.

In addition, the judge prevented the House of Assembly, the PDP, and INEC from vacating their seats and withdrawing their corresponding Certificates of Return until after the motion on notice has been heard and decided.

Justice Okorowo equally gave “an interim order of injunction restraining all the defendants from interfering with or impeding in any way or attempting to interfere with or impede in any way the performance of the applicants’ official and legislative functions as the speaker, the deputy speaker and members, respectively, of the Rivers State House of Assembly, pending the hearing and determination of the motion on notice.

The court ruled: “An order of interim injunction is hereby granted restraining the defendants/respondents, jointly and or severally, by themselves or their agents, from interfering with or impeding in any way or attempting to interfere with or impede in any way the full enjoyment of the official rights and privileges of the plaintiffs/applicants as the speaker, the deputy speaker and members, respectively, of the Rivers State House of Assembly, pending the hearing and determination of the motion on notice.

“An order of interim injunction is hereby granted restraining the 5th and 6th defendant (I-G and DSS), by themselves, officers, subordinates, servants or agents from denying or refusing to provide security for the plaintiffs or howsoever withdrawing their security details or personnel or failing to provide details or personnel or failing to provide adequate security for the plaintiffs/applicants for the purpose of enabling them to continue with the performance of their constitutional legislative and oversight functions pending the hearing and determination of the motion on notice.”

As a result, Judge Okorowo put the motion on notice, postponed the hearing until December 28, and directed the applicants to pay N250 million in damages.

The 26 lawmakers sued INEC, PDP, the assembly, the assembly clerk, the Inspector General of Police, and the Department of State Service (DSS) as first through sixth defendants, respectively, in a motion ex parte marked: FHC/ABJ/CS/1681/2023/ dated Dec. 13 and submitted Dec. 15.

Five reliefs were requested in the motion, which was opposed by the divided Speaker of the Assembly, Martins Chike-Amaewhule.