By Deborah Onyofufeke
Justice Inyang Ekwo of the Federal High Court, Abuja, has ordered the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to immediately resume the Continuous Voters Registration (CVR), until 90 days before the 2023 general elections.
The plaintiff, Anajat Salmat and three others had dragged INEC to court in a suit marked: FHC/ABJ/CS/1343/2022, where the electoral body is the sole defendant. They prayed the court to order INEC to resume the voter registration exercise in accordance with Nigerian law.
In the originating summons filed before the court, the plaintiffs argued that INEC cannot stop the CVR, contrary to the stipulated provisions of the constitution.
Justice Ekwo had in a judgment yesterday agreed with the plaintiffs and ordered that INEC must ensure that eligible Nigerians are not deprived the opportunity to have the voter’s card for the forthcoming poll.
The judge held that it was the constitutional responsibility of the electoral body to make adequate provisions for the exercise in accordance with Nigerian laws.
“The case of the plaintiffs succeeds on merit,” the judge had declared.
Recall that in June, Justice Mobolaji Olajuwon of the Federal High Court in Abuja had restrained INEC from stopping the ongoing voter registration which was scheduled to close on the 30th of the same month. A non-governmental organisation, Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) and 185 concerned Nigerians had filed a suit against INEC, demanding that the court order the deadline for the voters registration exercise to be extended
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The plaintiffs had approached the court, praying it to “declare as unconstitutional, illegal, and incompatible with international standards, the failure of the electoral body to extend the deadline for voter registration to allow eligible Nigerians to exercise their right”.
They further requested the court to grant an order, “restraining INEC, its agents, privies, assigns, or any other person(s) claiming through it from discontinuing the continuous voters’ registration exercise from the 30th June 2022, or any other date pending the hearing and determination of the motion on notice.”
Justice Olajuwon granted the order, which was filed in a suit marked FHC/L/CS/1034/2022, which was initially filed at the Lagos Division of the Court but later transferred to Abuja.
SERAP in the suit, requested the court to determine “whether the failure of INEC to extend the deadline for voter registration is not a violation of Nigerian Constitution, 1999 [as amended], the Electoral Act, and international standards.
SERAP further requested that the court issue a restraining order on INEC, its agents, privies, assigns, or any other person(s) claiming through it from discontinuing the continuous voters’ registration exercise from the 30th June 2022 or any other date pending the hearing and determination of the motion on notice.”
The suit followed the decision by INEC to extend the deadline for the conduct of primaries by political parties by six days, from June 3 to June 9. But the commission failed to also extend the online pre-registration which ended May 30 2022 and the Continuous Voter Registration (CVR) ending 30 June 2022.
