Five indigenes of Rivers State have filed a suit at the Federal High Court in Abuja against the state’s Sole Administrator, Vice Admiral Ibok Ete Ibas, and the Rivers State Independent Electoral Commission (RSIEC), seeking to stop the conduct of local government elections scheduled for August 30.
In the suit filed on Monday through their counsel, Sunday Ezema, the plaintiffs — Fredrick Ededeh, Benita Samuel, Jane Madubuike, Boma Aggo, and Comfort Agbom — argued that the current security situation in the state renders the polls unlawful.
They urged the court to determine whether elections can legally be held during the subsistence of a state of emergency, referencing President Bola Tinubu’s 2025 proclamation which cited “clear and present danger” of a breakdown in public order, peace, security, and governance in the state.
According to the claimants, such conditions make it impossible for citizens to exercise their voting rights safely and undermine the integrity of the electoral process
