A Federal High Court in Abuja has barred Nigeria's Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) from organizing any by-elections to replace 27 Rivers State lawmakers after a faction declared their seats vacant last week.
Judge Donatus Okorowo issued the injunction on Friday following an ex-parte application by the pro-Wike defectors seeking to block moves that could undermine their rights. Their lawyer Peter Onuh filed the emergency request on December 13th.
The court order responds to Nyesom Wike ally and self-declared speaker Edison Ehie ejecting the members from parliament after they exited the PDP for the APC.
However, Okorowo directed INEC to refrain from enabling special elections pending full hearings on the matter. The 27 lawmakers also obtained temporary court protection against security withdrawal and interference in discharging legislative duties.
The suit reflects ongoing vicious power struggles between Wike and Governor Fubara over control of Rivers political structures after a nasty fallout. Defectors argues that the move by Ehie represents unconstitutional overreach in service of partisan feuds.
In October, thugs bombed sections of the state assembly amid confrontations between pro and anti-Wike factions. Wike helped install Fubara as his successor but ties swiftly deteriorated this year. The 27 lawmakers now accuse the governor of destroying the party apparatus and governance priorities that brought their initial mandate.
After months of hostilities, Fubara presented his 2024 budget to Ehie's tiny bloc of loyalists rather than the Assembly writ large last week - afforded by a separate injunction barring the pro-Wike side's participation. Critics condemned the perceived exclusionary tactics.
With judges issuing contradictory temporary orders enabling both camps pending full merits hearings, the judiciary holds a very important influence in determining which faction retains legitimate authority.
The complex litigation and uncertainties around where legal power resides within the chaos, and the Centre for Democracy and Development warned of "further escalation" if institutions like courts appear partisan rather than impartial.
As 2023 elections loom, Wike seemingly maneuvers to consolidate strengths against his former ally to maximize federal leverage and resources. But Fubara blasted the recent defections to APC as illegal, saying proper procedures weren't followed.
Both factions have convened parallel legislative sittings deemed illicit by the other. ACDD lamented political calculations superseding stability, urging that "Rivers people must prevail over personal ambitions."
With key figures more invested in zero-sum feuding than governance, citizens bear the brunt through distractions from policymaking on security, jobs and living standards. Concern mounts that everyday needs can't wait on resolution of endless elite power plays.
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