Abuja Federal High Court has halted the Independent National Electoral Commission –INEC from ending the voter registration on the previously appointed 30th June 2022. An interim injunction was granted by Hon. Justice Olajuwon after the court hearing of an argument on motion ex parte by Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP).
About a hundred and eighty-five concerned Nigerians and SERAP had previously at the beginning of this month filed a suit against the electoral board, INEC begging the court to announce the failure of INEC to prolong the deadline for eligible citizens to register to vote and exercise their franchise as unlawful, going against the country’s constitutions, and not compatible with foreign standards.
The lawsuit has been shifted to 29th June for the court hearing of the Motion on Notice for interlocutory injunction. This was after SERAP filed for a restraining order against INEC, its agent, privies, or any other individuals claiming through it from stopping the voters’ registration exercise on June 30th or any other date till the hearing and decision of the motion on notice.
The suit contained statements such as:
• That the electoral body would not only be solitary and would show no favoritism in exercising its constitutional and statutory responsibilities, but had to also be displayed to be independent and impartial.
• Prolonging the continuous voter registration exercise would also increase voter confidence in the electoral process.
• That INEC orders had to be carried out in a just and non-discriminatory manner. The voter registration extension would ensure that Nigerian voters were treated the same and justly as the future democracy in Nigeria depended on it.
