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 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 plantiff, Chief Mudi Erhenede granted consequential order on the matter.
Hamilton Ogbodo, counsel to 1st plaintiff, Samuel Udeogu hailed the judgement.
“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 recert 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.
It is when you don’t want to obey the law, you know read it the way you want so that so that it can serve your own goals”, he said.
On his part, Mudi Erhenede, counsel to Isu Amaechi who is 2nd plantiff in the matter said 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 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 in defiant to that judgement, proceeded to swear-in some persons as local government chairmen”, he said.
He hailed the Justice Oshomah court ruling of Tuesday on the 2024 local government and councilorship elections in the state and urged the court to make available the judgment within possible time.