Delivering the lead judgment on Thursday, Justice Joseph Ekanem upheld the decision of Hon. Justice R.O. Riman, ruling that the said elections were conducted in clear violation of extant legal procedures. The appellate court dismissed three separate appeals filed by the Ebonyi State Government, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), and the purported Local Government Chairmen.
According to the Court of Appeal, the decision of the lower court in Suit No. FHC/AI/CS/224/2022 was a lawful enforcement of its prior judgment in Suit No. FHC/AI/CS/151/2022, which had already declared the elections a nullity. The court faulted the appellants for raising multiple and unnecessary issues in their briefs, resulting in procedural incompetence and lack of merit.
In Appeal No. CA/E/381/2022: Nwogba Ebere Oboh & 12 Ors v. Otu Collins Eleri & 12 Ors, the Court dismissed the appeal and affirmed that the purported local government officials lacked the legal standing to exercise powers of elected office.
In the second appeal, CA/E/176/2023: CBN v. Otu Collins Eleri & 22 Ors, the appellate court partly upheld the appeal on the narrow grounds that local government allocations from the Federation Account could not be withheld. However, it clarified that such funds must not be accessed or expended by persons who were not lawfully elected into office.
The third appeal, CA/E/266/2023: Governor of Ebonyi State & 2 Ors v. Otu Collins Eleri & 22 Ors, was similarly dismissed. The Court held that the Federal High Court’s judgment invalidating the July 2022 elections remained valid and subsisting.
This ruling reinforces judicial insistence on strict adherence to electoral laws and constitutional provisions in the conduct of local government elections across the federation.
