INEC joined in 71 court cases in 3 months – Okoye

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has lamented that in three months, it has been joined in 71 court cases.

A National Commissioner and Chairman, Information and Voter Education Committee, Festus Okoye, said this on Thursday, in Abuja at the end of the commission’s management meeting.

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“The commission was briefed by its Litigation and Prosecution Department, including an update on litigations, showing that in the last three months, the commission has been joined in 71 new cases in various courts across the country.

“Most of these cases, including the widely discussed one on Ebonyi State, involve either intra-party issues or litigants seeking for various reliefs from the courts that entail consequential orders that are binding on the commission,” he said.

Speaking on the case of Ebonyi State, Okoye said that the commission listed it for deliberation.

He said, “It involves court cases on the defection of the governor and deputy-governor of Ebonyi State and 16 members of the State House of Assembly from the PDP to the APC.

“The commission has been served with nine separate orders and motions from various courts on this matter.

“Just as the commission was about to commence deliberation on them, its attention was drawn to additional court processes served today in respect of the matter.”

Okoye said that consequently, the commission decided to defer its deliberation on the Ebonyi cases and stepped down the listed memorandum to enable its Legal Services and Clearance Committee to study the new processes in the light of the previously served ones and advise the commission comprehensively.

He said that the commission will meet again next week to deliberate on the matter and thereafter make its decision public.