The Federal High Court, Abuja yesterday declined to give an order stopping the collation of results of the governorship and House of Assembly elections conducted by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in Rivers State on March 9.
Justice Inyang Ekwo, in his ruling in an application filed by the plaintiffs, Mr. Biokpomabo Awara and Ben-Gurion Peter of the African Action Congress (AAC), held that the application was such that the court could not grant without hearing from the other parties.
The plaintiffs, represented by Tawo Tawo (SAN), in an ex-parte application, prayed for an order stopping INEC from “resuming collation, concluding and announcing the results of the March 9 election in Rivers State.”
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The judge rather ordered the plaintiffs to put the respondents – INEC and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) on notice and fixed March 25 for both the plaintiffs and the respondents to appear before him to argue their case.
Earlier, Justice Ekwo drew the attention of the plaintiffs’ counsel to the news making the rounds that he had restrained INEC from taking further action on the Rivers’ election.
The judge also drew Tawo’s attention to a name Inyang Ewa, who granted the purported order but the counsel denied the existence of such name for any Federal High Court judge.
He cautioned those behind the false news, saying that it was wrong for anybody or group to resort to self-help as such was prohibited in the judiciary.
