The Federal High Court in Abuja has rejected a move by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to nullify an earlier ruling that compelled it to investigate and prosecute all perpetrators and sponsors of electoral violence during the 2023 general elections.
In a landmark ruling delivered on July 23, 2025, Justice Obiora Egwuatu dismissed INEC’s preliminary objection, insisting that the July 18, 2024 judgment stands as final and valid.
“The judgment delivered on July 18, 2024 is on the merits, not a default judgment as claimed by INEC,” Justice Egwuatu ruled.
The court was responding to a motion by INEC, filed on December 17, 2024, seeking to set aside the judgment on the grounds of alleged “misrepresentation and concealment of material facts” by the Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP).
INEC had also requested the court to relist the case so it could be reargued. But the judge wasn’t having it.
In his 19-page decision, Justice Egwuatu stated:
“INEC’s application lacks jurisdiction. It is not for this court to revisit its own final decision. If any errors exist in the interpretation of the Electoral Act, 2022, only the Court of Appeal has the power to correct them.”
The original case was filed by SERAP after INEC failed to act on the July 2024 judgment ordering prosecution of electoral offenders. SERAP later filed a contempt charge against INEC Chairman, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, for non-compliance.
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