The Federal High Court, Abuja has dismissed a suit seeking to stop the Independent National Electoral Commission (UNEC) from collating the results of the March 9, 2019 governorship and House of Assembly elections in Rivers State.
Justice Inyang Ekwo yesterday dismissed the suit which was filed by the African Action Congress (AAC) and three of its members for lack of jurisdiction.
In its decision, the court upheld the preliminary objection filed by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) challenging the jurisdiction of the court to hear the case.
The court held that the subject matter of the suit being a post-election case, the court lacked jurisdiction to entertain it.
Ekwo said that the proper place for the matter to be heard is the election petitions tribunal.
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He described the suit as an attempt by the plaintiffs to make the court constitute itself into an election petitions tribunal. The trial judge who relied on the case of Ohakim vs Agbaso said that “in a very plain language, the reliefs sought by the plaintiffs are post-election and fall under the exclusive jurisdiction of the election tribunal.
“The authority in Ohakim vs Agbaso is very apt and until set aside it remains the law. Once an election has been held, it leaves the threshold of the Federal High Court.
“I find that the reliefs sought by the plaintiffs are within the realm of election petitions tribunal and I hereby declined jurisdiction to hear the suit.
“I make an order dismissing the case for want of jurisdiction,” Ekwo ruled. The plaintiffs who filed the suit marked FHC/ ABJ/CS/303/2019, were AAC, its governorship candidate in Rivers State, Biokpomabo Awara, and Ben-Gurion John Peter.
They asked the court for an order “restraining the 1st respondent (INEC) from further action in any manner whatsoever, including the counting/collation of votes, declaration and return of any candidate in the governorship and Houses of Assembly election of 9th March, 2019, in Rivers State, pending the hearing and determination of the motion on Notice”.
They anchored the request on section 36 of the 1999 Constitution, section 26(5) of the Electoral Act, 2010, as well as Order 46 Rule 5 of the Federal High Court Civil Procedure Rules 2009.
