Court Of Appeal Reaffirms “Null And Void” Status Of Ebonyi’s Controversial 2022 Council Elections

The Court of Appeal, Enugu Division, on Thursday upheld the judgment of Justice R.O. Riman of the Federal High Court, Abakaliki, which nullified the conduct of the 2022 local government elections in Ebonyi State.

In the lead judgment delivered by Justice Joseph Ekanem, the appellate court dismissed three separate appeals filed by the Ebonyi State Government, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), and the local government chairmen. The appellants had challenged the ruling of the Federal High Court that voided the controversial elections.

Justice Ekanem held that the Federal High Court’s earlier judgment in Suit No. FHC/AI/CS/224/2022 remained valid and subsisting. He clarified that the judgment sought to enforce compliance with an earlier decision in Suit No. FHC/AI/CS/151/2022, contrary to the appellants’ submissions.

The Court also faulted the appellants for what it termed a “proliferation of issues for determination,” leading to the filing of an incompetent brief of argument. Consequently, the appeals were dismissed.

The appeals heard by the court included: