News

Lawyer Sues INEC Over Alleged Failure To Electronically Transmit Election Results

Published

3 years ago

March 15, 2023

A legal practitioner, Mr. Bob James, on Wednesday, instituted an action against the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, over its alleged failure to electronically transmit results of the Presidential and National Assembly elections that held on February 25, from polling units to its IReV portal.

The plaintiff, in the suit he lodged before the Federal High Court in Abuja, cited INEC and the Attorney-General of the Federation, AGF, as defendants.

In the sole issue he set out for the court to determine, the plaintiff argued that the electoral body had a statutory duty to upload electronically on its portal, results of the Presidential and National Assembly elections “immediately” elections ended at every polling unit across the country.

Placing reliance on Section 60 of the Electoral Act 2022 and section 38 (1) of INEC’s Regulations, the lawyer prayed the court to determine whether the “failure or refusal to upload the results from each polling unit on the day of the election to the INEC IRev portal”, does not nullify the polls.

He urged the court to declare that INEC was under statutory obligation by virtue of the Electoral Act and its own guidelines to upload results from each polling station “immediately after counting and recording on Form EC 8A on election day.”

The plaintiff asked the court to hold that INEC’s failure to upload the results was a violation of its own guidelines for the conduct of the 2023 general elections.

As well as to make “a declaration that the presidential election held by the 1st respondent (INEC) on 25 February, 2023, is null and void and of no effect whatsoever, the result of same not having been declared in accordance with the law”.

In an affidavit he deposed to in support of the suit, the plaintiff averred that as a legal practitioner, he has an obligation to ensure that public institutions “entrusted with constitutional powers to conduct elections, do so strictly in compliance with the law.”

He contended that more than 90 per cent of results of the elections that held on February 25, were not uploaded on INEC IRev portal as at 12 midnight on the day of the polls.

The plaintiff told the court that paragraph 38 of INEC regulations and guidelines for the conduct of the 2023 elections, specifically mandated an electoral presiding officer to “use the Bimodal Voters Accreditation System (BVAS) machine to upload a scanned copy of the EC8A (election result paper) to the INEC Result Viewing Portal (IReV) as prescribed by the commission.”

He argued that the use of the word “shall” in the section of the regulation he cited, puts a statutory responsibility on INEC to electronically transmit the election results from every polling station in Nigeria to its portal.

He drew attention of the court to a subsisting judgement of the Supreme Court that was delivered by a former Chief Justice of Nigeria, CJN, Justice Walter Onnoghen, where the apex court held that; “where a law prescribes the procedure to be followed in the performance of an act and that procedure is not complied with, the performance of the act in the circumstance becomes a nullity”.

Meanwhile, no date has been fixed for the suit to be heard.

News

EPL: Arteta Gives Update On Havertz, Saliba, Gabriel, Others

Published

26 minutes ago

December 2, 2025

Editor

Arsenal manager, Mikel Arteta has provided the latest update on four of his players ahead of his side’s Premier League clash with Brentford on Wednesday.

The four players are Kai Havertz, William Saliba, Gabriel Magalhães and Leandro Trossard.

Arteta’s side will host Brentford in a Premier League tie at the Emirates Stadium on Wednesday night.

Arsenal head to the game following a 1-1 draw with Chelsea in their last game over the weekend.

“Kai Havertz is still weeks away,” Arteta said at his pre-match press conference as quoted by Fabrizio Romano on Tuesday.

“We are all desperate to have him. I mean, it is a player that, personally, I love so much for what he brings to the team – his character, his personality. I see him suffer, being outside.

“Gabriel Magalhães is doing very well, but it will take weeks to see him back.

“For William Saliba and Leandro Trossard, hopefully it’s a matter of days.

“For Saliba, this one is very bizarre injury… but hopefully it will be a short time out.”

News

BREAKING: Tinubu Nominates New Defence Minister

Published

2 hours ago

December 2, 2025

Editor

President Bola Tinubu has nominated former Chief of Defence Staff, CDS, Gen. Christopher Gwabin Musa, rtd, as the new Minister of Defence.

In a letter to Senate President Godswill Akpabio, Tinubu disclosed Musa’s nomination as the successor to Alhaji Mohammed Badaru, who resigned on Monday.

Musa served as Chief of Defence Staff from 2023 until October 2025. He won the Colin Powell Award for Soldiering in 2012.

Born in Sokoto in 1967, Musa received his primary and secondary education there before attending the College of Advanced Studies in Zaria.

He graduated in 1986 and enrolled at the Nigerian Defence Academy the same year, earning a Bachelor of Science degree upon graduation in 1991.

News

Edo Govt Bars Journalists From Covering Event In State House

Published

3 hours ago

December 2, 2025

Editor

Journalists invited by the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) to cover the declaration of Edo as the official hosts of the 2026 NDDC Sports Festival were on Tuesday barred from covering the event inside the Government House in Benin City.

The journalists had sat at the venue of the event named Presidential Villa inside the Government House at around 11:00 a.m. for the official kick off of the event.

After waiting for over one hour in the Presidential Villa, information came that the venue for the event had been changed to the Secretary to the State Government (SSG) office, prompting both the journalists, NDDC officials and other dignitaries to move from the Presidential Villa to the SSG office.

Not too long had both the journalists and other dignitaries seated at the conference hall of the SSG that one of the protocols of the governor popularly known as Pikolo arrived at the hall and announced that the government was informed that only 27 persons were invited for the programme, hence anyone whose name was not in the government list would not be allowed into to the programme when it commences.

A few minutes after Pikolo made the announcement, Chairman of the Edo State chapter of Sports Writers Association of Nigeria, Kehinde Osaigede stood up to announce that he had been sent a message that the venue had been changed to the initial venue (Presidential Villa).

Moving out of the SSG section of the Government House to the Presidential Villa, journalists came across the Chief Press Secretary to Governor Monday Okpebholo, Fred Itua, and when he saw them (journalists) he asked after exchanging pleasantries, “were you invited by the organisers? No, I will not allow you in, this is strictly for State House reporters. The governor is personally attending the programme, so it is strictly for the State House. Presidential Villa? No!”

Shortly after uttering the above words near the Deputy Governor’s section inside the Government House, Itua moved hurriedly to the Presidential Villa section and the gate was shot for screening of persons.

When journalists and others invited got to the gate of the Presidential Villa they were subjected to screening. While some dignitaries were screened in, some journalists and some staff members of the NDDC were shut out of the venue.