A Rivers State High Court in Port Harcourt has dismissed a lawsuit instituted by Mr. Fubara Dagogo and eight others from the Emeka Beke-led faction of the All Progressives Congress (APC) against the Rivers State Independent Electoral Commission (RSIEC).
The plaintiffs had challenged RSIEC’s rejection of their candidate list for the August 30, 2025 local government elections and sought the removal of current officeholders aligned with the Tony Okocha-led faction of the party.
Delivering judgment, Justice Stephen Jumbo struck out the suit for being statute-barred, noting that pre-election matters must be filed within seven days and concluded within fourteen days as provided by law, making the court unable to assume jurisdiction over the case.
The court ordered all parties to bear their legal costs. The counsel representing RSIEC, from the Rivers State Ministry of Justice, declined comments after the ruling.
