The Federal High Court sitting in Abakaliki, Ebonyi State, has nullified the July 2024 local government elections and dismissed all 13 council chairmen and their 171 ward councillors from office.
Delivering judgment, Justice H.I.O. Oshomah declared that the elections conducted by the Ebonyi State Independent Electoral Commission (EBSIEC) failed to meet the constitutional and legal standards required under the Nigerian Constitution and the Electoral Act.
The Court granted most of the reliefs sought by counsels to the plaintiffs, Mr. Hamilton Ogbodo and Chief Mudi Erhenede, who represented Samuel Udeogu and Isu Amaechi respectively. It also issued a consequential order barring the conduct of future local government elections in Ebonyi State unless they strictly comply with constitutional and electoral provisions.
“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, commending the court for upholding the rule of law.
He cautioned the state government and EBSIEC to respect the judgment and revert to the legal status quo, while noting that the government still had the right to appeal.
Chief Erhenede, in his reaction, criticised the state government’s history of disobeying court rulings, recalling that a previous decision by the late Justice Fatun Rilman had also nullified the 2022 local government elections a judgment the government reportedly ignored.
“This is a question of people who don’t want to believe in or obey the rule of law,” Erhenede said, urging the Court to promptly release the judgment document to facilitate enforcement.
The ruling is expected to have significant implications for governance and political administration in Ebonyi State, as legal and political observers await the government’s response whether compliance or an appeal.
