The Court of Appeal, Enugu Division, on Thursday affirmed the judgment of Justice R.O. Riman of the Federal High Court, Abakaliki, which nullified the local government elections conducted in Ebonyi State.
Delivering the lead judgment, Justice Joseph Ekanem dismissed three separate appeals filed by the Ebonyi State Government, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), and the affected local government chairmen, all challenging the earlier ruling of the Federal High Court.
The appellate court held that the Federal High Court judgment in Suit No. FHC/AI/CS/224/2022 remained valid and subsisting. It clarified that the ruling sought to enforce compliance with an earlier judgment in Suit No. FHC/AI/CS/151/2022, contrary to the arguments presented by the appellants.
Justice Ekanem stated that the appeals were dismissed due to the proliferation of issues for determination by the appellants, which rendered their briefs of argument incompetent.
In the appeal marked CA/E/381/2022, filed by Hon. Nwogba Ebere Oboh and 12 others against Otu Collins Eleri and 12 others, the court upheld the nullification of the elections.
On the second appeal, CA/E/176/2023 (CBN v. Otu Collins Eleri & 22 others), the court ruled partially in favor of the CBN, affirming that local government funds must continue to be released from the Federation Account. However, it emphasized that such funds must not be accessed or spent by individuals who were not validly elected.
The third appeal, CA/E/266/2023 (Governor of Ebonyi State & two others v. Otu Collins Eleri & 22 others), was dismissed for lacking merit.
The court upheld that the judgment in Suit No. FHC/AI/CS/151/2022, which nullified the chairmanship and councillorship elections held on July 30, 2022, remained binding and enforceable.
