Sunday Ejike
Justice Obiora Egwuatu of the Federal High Court in Abuja has adjourned till Wednesday to hear a suit seeking an order compelling the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to permit registered voters without the Permanent Voters Card (PVC) participate in the forthcoming general election, which commences on Saturday.
The Judge had last week, slated Monday, February 20 for INEC to file its counter-affidavit and other necessary processes in the suit and further ordered the plaintiffs to serve INEC with court processes shortly after it declined to abridge time in which INEC could file its counter affidavit to the originating summons.
When the matter was called on Monday, there was no representation for the electoral umpire, even as the plaintiffs’ counsel, Mr Victor Opatola, informed the court that the respondent was served the suit last week in line with the order of the court.
After confirming that INEC is still within the time allowed by law to reply to the suit, the court accordingly adjourned till Wednesday for a hearing.
The plaintiffs, Kofoworola Olusegun and Wilson Allwell, in the suit filed marked FHC/ABJ/CS/180/2023 and filed on February 8, want the court to declare, “Whether a person whose name appears in the electronic format in the defendant’s central database and manual, printed paper-based record or hard copy format of the Register of Voters and has been assigned a Voter’s Identification Number (VIN), can be said to be entitled to be accredited to vote with his/her Temporary Voter’s Card, in the forthcoming general election to be conducted by the defendant.
“Whether by the true construction and interpretation of section 10(2), 12(1) and 47 of the Electoral Act 2022; Section 77(2) and 132(5) of the 1999 constitution (as amended) the plaintiffs, bearing in mind that the BVAS machine introduced by the INEC only needs the thumbprint and/or facial recognition to accredit a person whose name appears in its central database and manual printed paper-based record or hard copy format of the Register of Voters and has been assigned a Voter’s Identification Number (VIN).
“Whether such a person can, as a consequence of the defendant’s inabilities, actions and omission be disenfranchised of the right and entitlement to vote in the forthcoming 2023 general election”.
Should the questions be answered in their favour, the plaintiffs asked the court to declare that they, having fulfilled all necessary legal requirements to register and having consequently been captured in INEC’s central database and manual, printed paper-based record or hard copy format of INEC’s maintained register of voters, they e entitled to vote using their Temporary Voter’s Card in the forthcoming 2023 General Election.
“An order compelling INEC to allow the plaintiff to vote using their temporary voter’s card, issued by the defendant, the plaintiff having been duly captured in the National Register of Voter’s database. Any other order, the court may deem fit for all other Nigerians who are like the plaintiffs and have not gotten their permanent voter’s card, as the court may deem fit”.
Counsel to the plaintiffs, Mr Victor Opatola, in support of the originating summons had filed an affidavit of urgency praying the court to abridge time due to the nearness of the election which comes up on February 25 with the presidential election.
In their statement of fact, the plaintiffs claimed that they were citizens of Nigeria, who had been registered in the central database and been assigned Voters Identification Numbers (VIN).
“After the plaintiffs have fulfilled all legal requirements of registration, and their names contained in the central database, the defendant has neglected to issue them their voter’s card even after several attempts were made by the plaintiffs to get their Permanent Voter’s Card”.
Consequently, they averred that the time frame given by INEC for the collection of Voter’s Card lapsed on February 5 and that, they will be disenfranchised, due to no fault of theirs, and precluded from voting in the forthcoming general election.
They further averred that INEC has closed the collection of Permanent Voter’s Cards and stopped its distribution nationwide.
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