A Federal High Court in Lokoja, the capital of Kogi State, has set aside an earlier ruling that barred the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) from receiving recall petitions initiated by constituents of the Kogi Central Senatorial District against Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan.
In a landmark judgment delivered on Friday, the court affirmed that the recall process is constitutionally valid and consistent with the civic rights of the constituents.
The court urged voters to continue exercising their rights in an orderly and peaceful manner.
This development follows the court’s interim injunction issued on Thursday, which had restrained INEC, its staff, agents, and privies from receiving, accepting, or acting on any petition containing signatures of registered voters from the Kogi Central Senatorial District.
The court also prohibited INEC from conducting any referendum on such petitions pending the determination of the motion on notice.
The judgment was issued following an ex-parte application supported by an affidavit of extreme urgency, together with other sworn court processes by Anebe Jacob Ogirima, a registered voter and constituent of the district, on behalf of himself and four others.
Counsel for the applicant, Smart Nwachimere, argued that the recall petitions in question contained fictitious signatures from purported constituents.
The court’s injunction specifically restrains INEC and its associates from receiving or accepting any recall petitions with fake signatures and from conducting any referendum based on those petitions.
The case has been adjourned to May 6, 2025, for further mention.
