Justice Fatun Riman of the Federal High Court sitting in Abakaliki, Ebonyi State, on Friday, 9th December, 2022 sacked all the Chairmen and Councillors of the 13 Local Government Areas in the State, ordering them to vacate offices, immediately.
The same Court had in an earlier judgment delivered by in August 2022, nullified the Local Government Council elections conducted by the Ebonyi State Independent Electoral Commission (EBSIEC), on July 30, 2022, wherein the candidates of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) emerged winners.
The judgment followed a suit filed by Otu Eleri and three others, challenging the conduct of the Council elections in which the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), the Ebonyi State Independent Electoral Commission (EBSIEC), and the Ebonyi State government were named as respondents.
The plaintiffs had asked the court to, among other things, declare the election undemocratic and unlawful, having failed to comply with section 150 of the Electoral Act 2022.
They had contended that the Ebonyi State government and the State electoral umpire failed to avail them of the exact laws used to conduct the election, which the ruling APC claimed it won across the 13 local government areas and the State government went ahead to inaugurate the Council officials.
In its judgement this Friday, the Court ordered that all the Chairmen and Councillors of the 13 Local Government Areas in the State who came into office through the nullified elections, be removed with immediate effect.
