Court reserves judgement in suit seeking to nullify Ebonyi local elections

The Federal High Court in Abakaliki, Ebonyi State has reserved judgement in a suit challenging the validity of the 2024 local elections in the state.

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The elections were held on 20 July 2024.

The candidates of the ruling All Progressives Congress won all the 13 chairmanship seats and 171 ward councillors in the state.

But two indigenes of the state, Samuel Udeogu and Amaechi Isu filed the suit against the poll.

Messrs Udeogu and Isu asked the court to nullify the elections for allegedly violating the 2022 Electoral Law.

The Independent National Electoral Commission and the Ebonyi State Independent Electoral Commission (EBSIEC) were listed in the suit as defendants.

Governor Francis Nwifuru of Ebonyi State and the Ebonyi State Government were also listed as defendants.

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2022 precedent

The ongoing legal battle draws on the precedent set in August 2022 when Justice Fatun Riman of the same court nullified the local council elections of that year.

The court, at the time, held that the elections failed to comply with the provisions of the 2022 Electoral Law.

Dave Umahi, now Nigeria’ s minister of works, was the governor of the South-eastern state at the time.

Dissatisfied with the ruling, the Ebonyi State Government and the then sacked chairpersons of the 13 local government councils appealed the ruling at the Court of Appeal Enugu Division.

But the Court of Appeal, in May 2025, affirmed the judgement of the Federal High Court Abakaliki which nullified the 2022 local elections in Ebonyi State.

Arguments on 2024 suit

On Tuesday, the court resumed hearing on the suit instituted by Messrs Udeogu and Isu challenging the 2024 local elections in Ebonyi.

Mudi Erhenede, counsel to Mr Isu, the second plaintiff, urged the court to nullify the elections.

Mr Erhenede argued that the state failed to comply with the appeal court’s ruling concerning the 2022 polls.

The lawyer maintained that the appeals filed by the state government and the chairpersons against the 2022 ruling of Federal High Court was directly linked to the issues raised in the present suit.

READ ALSO: Court orders temporal forfeiture of N1bn allegedly diverted by Ebonyi official

But I.N. Nwideagu, counsel to Ebonyi election commission and the state government, urged the court to dismiss the plaintiffs’ argument.

Mr Nwideagu also urged the court to deliver judgement in favour of the 2nd and 3rd defendants (Governor Nwifuru and the state government) with punitive costs awarded against the plaintiffs.

Reserved judgement

Justice H.I.O. Ochoma reserved judgement after hearing arguments from parties to the suit.

After the adoption of final addresses by all parties, Justice Ochoma announced that the date for delivery of judgement would be communicated to the parties in due course.