A Federal High Court Sitting Abuja on Thursday fixed December 13, 2022, to deliver Judgement on a suit seeking for Continuous Voters Registration till at least 90 days to the 2023 general elections filled by some members of Peter Obi Support Network (POSN).
The Activists had approached the Federal High Court in Abuja seeking to compel Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to continue the voter registration exercise till at least November 2022.
The case was filled by the group on August 4th, 2022.
The parties at the resumption of hearing adopted their various Processes before the Justice Inyang Ekwo of the Federal High Court.
The plaintiffs in the suit with No FHC/ABJ/CS/1342/2022 filed on its behalf by a law firm, Ikechukwu Ezechukwu (SAN) & Co., argued that the abrupt termination of the voter registration exercise would disenfranchise millions of eligible voters during the 2023 presidential election.
The suit seeks, among other things, an order compelling INEC to reverse its earlier directive halting the CVR exercise across the country on July 31, 2022, and to declare as ultra vires the commission’s decision to put a timeline on the CVR exercise outside the timeline provided by the 2022 Electoral Act, as amended.
The Plaintiffs raised the following issues for determination:
“Whether having regards to the combined provisions of Sections 76(2), 77(2), 116(2), 117(2), 132(2) & (5) and 178 (2) & (5) of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (as Amended) as well as Sections 9(1), 9 (6), 10(1) and 12(1) of the Electoral Acts, 2022, the Defendant can or has the right or latitude to stop the continuous voter registration on 31st July, 2022, about over Seven and Half (71/2) months (208 days), or any other day not until ninety (90) days before the General Elections when there are millions of prospective voters including the Plaintiffs who have not Registered and are willing to do so.”
After the submission of parties involved in the case on Thursday, Justice Ekwo adjourned till December 13 to deliver Judgement on the matter.
