By Nkechinyere Okpara
The Federal High Court sitting in Abakaliki, Ebonyi State, on Tuesday nullified the local government and councillorship elections held in July 2024, which produced the current council chairmen and councillors across the state.
The court, presided over by Justice H.I.O. Oshomah, ruled that the elections conducted by the Ebonyi State Independent Electoral Commission (EBSIEC) failed to comply with the provisions of the Electoral Act.
In its judgement, the court voided and cancelled the entire exercise and directed EBSIEC and the Ebonyi State Government listed as the 2nd and 3rd defendants not to conduct further local government elections in the state unless done strictly in accordance with the Constitution and relevant electoral laws.
The ruling followed a suit filed by Samuel Udeogu and Isu Amaechi, through their counsels, Hamilton Ogbodo and Chief Mudi Erhenede, respectively. The court granted most of the reliefs sought by the plaintiffs, including consequential orders affirming the illegality of the disputed elections.
Reacting to the judgement, counsel to the first plaintiff, Hamilton Ogbodo, described the verdict as “a victory for democracy and the rule of law.”
“The local government election conducted in July 2024 is no longer valid — it has been cancelled by this Federal High Court. We expect the state government and EBSIEC to obey the judgement. The court has done what the law requires, and the local government chairmen stand removed by this order,” Ogbodo said.
He added that while the defendants still have time to appeal, the plaintiffs expect full compliance with the decision of the court.
Also speaking, counsel to the second plaintiff, Chief Mudi Erhenede, recalled that a similar judgement delivered by late Justice Fatun Rilman in 2022 had earlier nullified a previous local government election in the state, which, according to him, the state government ignored.
“The 2022 local government elections were nullified by the Federal High Court, yet the government went ahead to swear in chairmen and councillors. They even lost the appeal against that judgement,” Erhenede said.
He commended the latest decision of the court, describing it as consistent with the earlier position that any election not conducted in line with the law cannot stand.
“This is another clear statement that the rule of law must prevail in Ebonyi State,” he added, urging the court to release the full judgment promptly.