Court sacks Ebonyi local govt chairmen, councillors, restrict further unconstitutional polls

The Federal High Court sitting in Abakaliki, the Ebonyi State capital, on Tuesday nullified the local government and councilorship elections conducted in July last year which produced the current council chairmen and councilors in the state.

 

The court presided by Justice H.I.O. Oshomah, held that the July 2024 local government and councilorship elections in the state didn’t conform with the provisions of the Electoral Act.

 

It therefore voided and cancelled the local government and councilorship elections and asked the Ebonyi State Independent National Electoral Commission (EBSIEC) and the state government who are the 2nd and 3rd respondents not to conduct further local government and councilorship elections in the state except in line with the provisions of the constitution.

 

The court, which granted most of the reliefs sort by counsels to the 1st plaintiff, Hamilton Ogbodo and 2nd plaintiff, Chief Mudi Erhenede granted consequential order on the matter.

 

Hamilton Ogbodo, counsel to 1st plaintiff, Samuel Udeogu hailed the judgment.

 

He said: “So, in effect, the local government election that was conducted in July 2024 in Ebonyi State, is no more there.

 

“it has been cancelled by this federal high court today.

 

“If the 2nd and 3rd defendants want to do what the law says they should do, they should revert to status quo ante bellum and then obey the court order.

 

“But we are waiting for them because the time within which they can appeal this judgement is still running and when it expires, we will know what to do.

 

“We expect them to obey the court order.

 

“The local government chairmen has been sacked by the order of the court.

 

“The court has done exactly what the law says it should do because these things are in black and white”.

 

Mudi Erhenede, counsel to Isu Amaechi, the 2nd plantiff, explained that the federal high court sitting in Abakaliki presided by late Justice Fatun Rilman had nullified the 2022 local government and councilorship elections which the state government didn’t obey but went ahead and swore -in people as elected council chairmen and councilors across the 13 Local Government areas and 171 wards in the state.

 

He noted that the 2nd and 3rd defendants filed appeal against the Justice Fatun Rilman which they lost following the upholding of the Justice Fatun Rilman federal high court judgement.

 

“This is a question of people who don’t want to believe in rule of law and obey the rule of law.

 

“The federal high court nullified the local government election conducted in 2022 and the state government, defiant to that judgement, proceeded to swear-in same persons as local government chairmen”, he said.

 

He hailed tne Justice Oshomah’s Tuesday court ruling on the 2024 local government and councilorship elections in the state and urged the court to make available the judgement in record time.