Nigeria: Appeal Court Nullifies Ebonyi LG Election Procedure By Felix Uka Abakaliki — The September 28, 2013 election of 13 local government chairmen in Ebonyi State is at risk of being nullified following the judgment of the Court of Appeal sitting in Enugu declaring the open ballot system used in the elections inconsistent with the 1999 Constitution. The court in a 53-page judgment delivered during the weekend, explained that the restriction of an appellant, Peter Nwali, an All Progressive Congress (APC) Organising Secretary, the right to his privacy as a citizen by S. 5 (1) and Paragraph 21 (2), (3), (4) and (5) of the First Schedule to Ebonyi State Electoral (Amendment) and Related Matters Law 2010, removing the privacy of his choice of candidate to vote for and the vote for that candidate has not been shown to have complied with S. 45 (1) of the 1999 Constitution. The judgment delivered by Justice Emmanuel Akomaye Agim on behalf of Justices Saidu Tanko Husaini and Misitura Omodoere Bolaji-Yusuff, followed a suit filed by Nwali. Nwali had on August 28, 2013 gone to the Federal High Court at Abakaliki against the Ebonyi State Independent Electoral Commission, the Speaker of the State House of Assembly, the Attorney General of the state, the Resident Electoral Commissioner, INEC, Ebonyi State, applying for enforcement of his fundamental right to privacy. He also prayed for an order of perpetual injunction restraining them from using the open ballot system to conduct the local government election. Dissatisfied with the dismissal of the suit by the Federal High Court at Abakaliki, Nwali proceeded to the Appeal Court on Appeal No.CA/E/510/2013. The judgment in part read: In the light of the foregoing, I hold that S.5 (1) and Paragraph 21 (2), (3), (4) and (5) of the Forst Schedule to the Ebponyi State Electoral (Amendment) Law 2010, and all provisions therein, providing for voting by open ballot, are void ab initio inconsistent with S.37 (1) of the same constitution. In the light of the foregoing, I resolve all issues in this appeal in favour of the appellant. On the whole this appeal succeeds and is allowed. This part of ruling of the Federal High Court sitting in Abakaliki, per M.A. Oyetenu J. In suit No. FHC/AI/CS/38/2013 delivered on September 20, 2013 upholding the first, second and third respondents preliminary objection and dismissing the appellants suit is hereby set aside, it added. Meanwhile, the Ebonyi State Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, Ben Igwenyi, said the judgment was unacceptable to them, so they would go to the Supreme Court to seek its reversal.
Posted on: Mon, 08 Sep 2014 07:37:34 +0000
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