The Federal High Court, Abuja, has stopped the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) from ending the voter registration on June 30 2022.
Justice Mobolaji Olajuwon granted an order of interim injunction following the hearing of an argument on motion exparte by Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP).
SERAP and 185 other concerned Nigerians had earlier this month filed a lawsuit – FHC/L/CS/1034/2022 at the Federal High Court, Lagos and transferred to Abuja against INEC.
The suit followed the inability of INEC to extend the online pre-registration deadline, which ended May 30, 2022, and the Continuous Voter Registration (CVR) ending June 30 2022.
The group urged the court to “declare unconstitutional, illegal, and incompatible with international standards the failure of the electoral body to extend the deadline for voter registration to allow eligible Nigerians to exercise their rights”.
According to the file, SERAP is asking the court to determine “whether the failure of INEC to extend the deadline for voter registration is not a violation of Nigerian Constitution, 1999 [as amended], the Electoral Act, and international standards”.
The commission is asking the court for “an order of mandamus to direct and compel INEC to extend voter registration by a minimum of three months and take effective measures to ensure that eligible Nigerians can register to exercise their right to vote in the 2023 general elections”.
