Appeal Court Upholds Nullification of Ebonyi Local Government Elections

The Court of Appeal sitting in Enugu has affirmed the nullification of the 2022 Local Government elections in Ebonyi State.

Delivering the lead judgment on Thursday, Justice Joseph Ekanem upheld the earlier ruling by Justice R.O. Riman of the Federal High Court in Abakaliki, which had invalidated the elections. The Appeal Court dismissed three separate appeals filed by the Ebonyi State Government, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), and the affected Local Government Chairmen.

The appellate court held that the initial Federal High Court judgment (Suit No. FHC/AI/CS/224/2022) was aimed at enforcing compliance with an earlier judgment (Suit No. FHC/AI/CS/151/2022), contrary to the appellants’ claims.

According to the court, the appeals failed due to a “proliferation of issues for determination,” which rendered the appellants’ briefs incompetent.

The three appeals included:

1. CA/E/381/2022 – Hon. Nwogba Ebere Oboh & 12 others vs. Otu Collins Eleri & 12 others: Dismissed in line with the Federal High Court’s earlier ruling.
2. CA/E/176/2023 – CBN vs. Otu Collins Eleri & 22 others: Partially succeeded. The court ruled that Local Government funds from the Federation Account must be released, but cannot be accessed or spent by the appellants, who were not validly elected.
3. CA/E/266/2023 – Governor of Ebonyi State & two others vs. Otu Collins Eleri & 22 others: Dismissed for lack of merit. The court reaffirmed that the July 30, 2022, LG elections in Ebonyi were null and void.

With this ruling, the Federal High Court’s decision nullifying the election of Local Government Chairmen and Councillors in Ebonyi State remains in force.