The Rivers State Police Command has announced its decision to boycott the upcoming local government council elections scheduled for Saturday, following a Federal High Court order.
The command’s spokesperson, SP Grace Iringe-Koko, confirmed to journalists in Port Harcourt on Friday that the police had already started withdrawing officers from election duties in compliance with the court’s ruling.
“The court order prevents the police from participating in, providing security for, or allowing the local government elections to proceed. Consequently, all area commanders, divisional police officers, and tactical units have been instructed to comply with the Federal High Court’s judgement,” Iringe-Koko said.
She urged other security agencies to respect the court’s directive and warned that those dissatisfied with the police’s decision should seek legal recourse ahead of the elections. She, however, assured that police officers would remain on alert for any disturbances that might arise, even though they would not take part directly in the election process.
The court ruling, issued on September 30, barred the Independent National Electoral Commission from providing the Voters Register to the Rivers State Independent Electoral Commission, RSIEC, citing non-compliance with RSIEC’s 2018 laws regarding the voters register. Additionally, the ruling prohibited the police and the State Security Service from engaging in election activities.
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Despite the Federal High Court’s judgement, RSIEC has expressed its determination to proceed with the elections. RSIEC Chairman, Justice Adolphus Enebeli (Rtd), referenced a State High Court ruling that authorized the commission to continue with its election plans.
In response to the legal controversy, a group of lawyers defending democracy and human rights challenged the Federal High Court’s jurisdiction over the matter. Okere Nnamdi, the group’s convener, argued that the court was of limited jurisdiction and could not prevent RSIEC from conducting the polls, as the electoral body is a state agency.
“The Federal High Court’s jurisdiction is outlined in Section 2(51), Subsection 1(Q) (R) of the 1999 Constitution, which does not extend to matters involving RSIEC, a state government agency,” Nnamdi explained. He emphasized that only the Rivers State High Court could legally restrain RSIEC from conducting the local government elections.
Nnamdi further pointed out that the constitutional responsibility of conducting local government elections is vested in the State Independent Electoral Commissions as outlined in Paragraph 4, Part 2 of the Third Schedule and Section 197 of the 1999 Constitution, which grants states the autonomy to manage their local government electoral processes.
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