Professor Haruna Dabin, a former chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Plateau State, and five others have approached a Federal High Court, Abuja to commence a civil suit against the Independent Electoral Commission (INEC) and three others over the conduct of the 2023 presidential election.
The others on the list of plaintiffs in the suit titled Order 3, Rule 9 of the Federal High Court (civil procedure) rules, 2019 are Joseph Enan, Joseph Inya Agha, Afeez Adeyeye, Lawrence Oloko, and Kuyembo Danjuma.
Listed as 1st to 5th respondents in the suit are the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC Chairman, INEC Commissioners, 177,506 polling officers and the Inspector General Of Police respectively.
Through their counsel, Logosphere Attorneys, the plaintiffs asked the court to compel the IGP to arrest Chairman of INEC, Prof Mahmood Yakubu, for failing to adhere to the 2022 Electoral Act and the Election Guidelines as approved by the Commission.
In the suit marked FHC/ABJ/CS/426/2023, the plaintiffs asked the court to determine whether the defendants had an obligation under the law to electronically transmit or transfer from the Polling Units across the country the results of the Presidential and National Assembly elections conducted on February 25, 2023 after the votes had been counted and recorded by the Polling Officers before collation at the Ward Collection Centres.
Among others, they also asked to be determined “Whether by the true construction and interpretation of Sections 60(4), 145, and 47(1) of Electoral Act 2022 and the Regulations and Guidelines for the Conduct of the 2023 Election, particularly Clause 38, failure to transmit the results of the Presidential and National Assembly elections conducted on Saturday, February 25, 2023, after the votes have been counted and written in the prescribed form is not a violation of the Electoral Act?
“Whether subject to the interpretation of Sections 60(4), 148, and 47(1) of the Electoral Act 2022 and the Regulations and Guidelines for the Conduct of the 2023 Election, particularly Clause 38, the failure of the Polling Officers to transmit the results of the Presidential and National Assembly elections conducted by the defendants on Saturday, February 25, 2023 is not a crime punishable upon conviction under the Clause 38 of the Regulation and Guidelines for the Conduct of the 2023 Elections?
“Whether by the true construction and interpretation of Section 60(4), 148, and 47(1) of the Electoral Act 2022, the Regulations and Guidelines for the Conduct of the 2023 Elections and Section 4 of the Nigerian Police Act, 2020, the Inspector General of Police, through the relevant Police Officers, does not have an obligation to prosecute the 2nd to 4th Defendants for commission of a crime for not transmitting to the IReV portal the results of voting of the Presidential and National Assembly elections held on Saturday, February 23, 2023, after the votes have been counted at the Polling Units across the country”.
The plaintiffs therefore prayed the court for the following reliefs, “a declaration that by the provisions of Sections 60, 64(4), and 148 of the Electoral Act 2022 and the Regulations and Guidelines for the 2023 Elections it is mandatory for Polling Officers to electronically transmit election results from the Polling Units to INEC’s IREV portal immediately after results of votes have been counted and entered in the result sheet provided by INEC
“A declaration that failure to electronically transmit or transfer results of voting during the Presidential and National Assembly elections on February 25, 2023, from the Polling Units to the INEC IReV portal before collation at the Ward Collection Center is a violation of the Electoral Act 2022 and Regulations made to the Act.
“A declaration that failure of the Defendants to electronically transmit or transfer the results of the votes of the Presidential and National Assembly elections held on February 25, 2023, from the polling units to the INEC IReV portal is a crime punishable under the electoral law”.
They further prayed for an order compelling the IGP to take necessary action under the law to prosecute the 2nd to 4th defendants for not transmitting electronically results of voting from the Polling Units to the INEC IRev portal as required by the Electoral Act and the INEC’s Guidelines.
