Justice Peter Lifu of the Federal High Court in Abuja has again stopped the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) from releasing the voters’ register to the Rivers State Independent Electoral Commission (RSIEC) for the local government elections scheduled for October 5, 2024.

In his judgment on Monday, Justice Lifu ruled in favor of the All Progressives Congress (APC), which had challenged the legality of the election date set by RSIEC. He criticized RSIEC for failing to follow the relevant laws governing local elections, stating that the electoral body violated the law by not providing the mandatory 90-day notice before scheduling the election.

The judge emphasized that the voters’ register should have been updated before a valid election date could be set. As a result, he ordered INEC not to release the certified voters’ register to RSIEC until all legal requirements are fulfilled.

Justice Lifu also prohibited RSIEC from using any voters’ register from INEC for the election and barred the Inspector General of Police (IGP) and the Department of State Services (DSS) from providing security for the election.

“The updating and revision of the voters’ register should have been completed before a legally valid election date could be set,” the judge ruled.

This ruling follows a previous order issued on July 19, where Justice Lifu restrained INEC from releasing the voters’ register and directed all parties to maintain the status quo until the substantive suit is resolved.