A Rivers State High Court in Port Harcourt has dismissed a lawsuit filed by a faction of the All Progressives Congress (APC) against the Rivers State Independent Electoral Commission (RSIEC) over the nomination of candidates for the August 30, 2025 local government elections.
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The suit was brought before the court by Fubara Dagogo and eight others loyal to the Emeka Beke-led faction of the APC, associated with former Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi. They had challenged RSIEC’s decision to reject their list of candidates and instead recognise those presented by the Chief Tony Okocha-led faction, whose nominees currently occupy the council positions.
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In his ruling, Justice Stephen Jumbo declared that the matter qualified as a pre-election issue under Section 285(14) of the 1999 Constitution (as amended). He further ruled that the case was filed outside the required time frame, making it statute-barred. The judge explained that since the plaintiffs failed to file the suit within seven days and conclude it within fourteen days as provided under the law, the court had no authority to entertain it.
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As a result, the case was dismissed, and the judge ordered both parties to bear their own legal costs.
Lawyers representing RSIEC, who appeared from the State Ministry of Justice, did not make any public statement after the judgment. However, the claimants’ counsel, James Allen-Umeni, said they would obtain the certified copy of the ruling and review it before deciding whether to take further legal action.
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