The Federal High Court in Abuja has reserved judgment in the suit filed by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) against Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and others over dispute with respect to conduct of local government elections in Kwara State.
Justice Peter Lifu on Wednesday held that a new date would be communicated to parties in the suit.
Justice Peter Lifu had, on Sept. 17, 2024, set aside the interim order restraining the Kwara government from conducting the local government elections scheduled for Sept. 21, 2024.
The judge, in a ruling, vacated the order on the grounds that it had expired by the provisions of the law, having lasted for more than 14 days.
He agreed with the submissions of Johnson Usman, SAN, counsel to the Kwara State Independent Electoral Commission (KWSIEC), and the Kwara Attorney-General (AG), Senior Sulyman, SAN.
He said it was on record that the same ex-parte order had been pending since July 29, 2024.
The judge, in another ruling also dismissed the contempt charge filed by the PDP to commit the Chairman of KWSIEC, Baba Okanla, to prison on allegations of violations of valid court order.
The judge dismissed the application on the ground that the contempt of court charge was not served on the contemnor as required by law.
Justice Lifu, who upheld the arguments of Usman and Sulyman, said since a contempt charge is a criminal charge, it ought to have been served personally on the KWSIEC chairman and not through any other party or person.
He said that the failure of the PDP’s lawyer, Ademola Abimbola, to serve the contempt charge on Okanla was a fundamental breach of Section 36 of the 1999 Constitution which denied the contemnor a fair hearing.
NAN reports that the judge had, on 29 July, 2024, granted the PDP’s ex-parte motion to stop INEC from releasing the national voters’ register to KWSIEC for the Sept. 21, 2024 local government elections in the state, pending the hearing and determination of the substantive suit.
The PDP, the plaintiff, had, in the suit number: FHC/ABJ/CS/1061/2024, sued INEC, KWASIEC, Kwara AG, Inspector-General (I-G) of Police and Department of State Services (DSS) as 1st to 5th defendants respectively.
PDP, through its team of lawyers led by Kehinde Ogunwumiju, SAN, told the court that KWASIEC was in grievous contravention, breach and violation of Sections 9, 28, 29 and 106 of the Electoral Act 2022, Sections 20 (1) and 21 (1) of Kwara State Local Government Electoral (Amendment) Law, 2024.
The party claimed that all the conditions and precedents contained in Local Government Electoral Laws in Kwara were deliberately jettisoned by the state’s electoral body under unacceptable circumstances.
It alleged that KWSIEC had applied to INEC for the register of voters in Kwara to use the same in the conduct of the LG polls.
The party said the action was in breach and violation of the provisions of the 1999 Constitution, as amended, the Electoral Act, 2022, as well as Kwara State Local Government Electoral (Amendment) Law, 2024.
