Court sacks Ebonyi LG Chairmen, Councillors

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By Iheanyi Chukwudi

A Federal High Court sitting in Abakaliki, has sacked all the elected Chairmen and Councillors in Ebonyi State.

The court, presided over by Justice H.I.O. Oshomah, in sacking the council officials on Tuesday, nullified the local government and councilorship elections conducted in the state in July, 2024, which produced the affected council chairmen and councillors.

Justice Oshomah, delivering judgement, held that the July 2024 local government and councilorship elections in Ebonyi State did not conform with the provisions of the Electoral Act.

The judge therefore voided and cancelled the elections and asked the Ebonyi State Independent Electoral Commission (EBSIEC) and the state government, who are the 2nd and 3rd respondents, not to conduct further local government and councilorship elections in the state except in line with the provisions of the Constitution.

Oshomah, who granted most of the reliefs sought by counsel to the 1st plaintiff, Hamilton Ogbodo, and 2nd plaintiff, Chief Mudi Erhenede, granted consequential orders on the matter.

Reacting to the judgement, Bar. Hamilton Ogbodo, counsel to 1st plaintiff, Samuel Udeogu, “So, in effect, the local government election that was conducted in July 2024 in Ebonyi State is no more; it has been cancelled by this Federal High Court today.

“If the 2nd and 3rd defendants want to do what the law says they should do, they should revert to status quo ante bellum and then obey the court order, but we are waiting for them because the time within which they can appeal this judgement is still running and when it expires, we will know what to do.

We expect them to obey the court order. The local government chairmen have been sacked by the order of the court. The court has done exactly what the law says it should do because these things are in black and white.

It is when you don’t want to obey the law, you now, read it the way you want so that it can serve your own goals."

Also reacting, Mudi Erhenede, counsel to Isu Amaechi, the 2nd plaintiff recalled that, the same "Federal High Court sitting in Abakaliki, presided over by late Justice Fatun Riman, had nullified the 2022 local government and councilorship elections, which the state government did not obey but went ahead and swore in people as elected council chairmen and councillors across the 13 local governments and 171 wards in the state."

Noting that the 2nd and 3rd defendants filed an appeal against the Justice Fatun Riman judgement, and lost, he said, “This is a question of people who don’t want to believe in rule of law and obey the rule of law.

The Federal High Court nullified the local government election conducted in 2022 and the state, in defiance of that judgement, proceeded to swear in some persons as Chairmen and Councillors."