The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) on Monday appealed against a Federal High Court’s judgement which nullified its revised timetable and schedule of activities for the conduct of the 2027 general elections.
INEC, in a notice of appeal dated and filed on 25 May through its lawyer, Alex Izinyon, SAN, also filed a motion for stay of execution of the judgement, pending the hearing and determination of its appeal at the Court of Appeal.
The electoral umpire, which gave nine grounds for its appeal, argued that the trial judge, Mohammed Umar, erred in law when he failed to pronounce on the jurisdictional issue of the suit being hypothetical and academic, thereby denying the commission a fair hearing.
It argued that the trial judge’s interpretation of Section 29(1), 82 and 84 of the Electoral Act, 2026 did not permit the restricted, narrow interpretation accorded by the court.
INEC further argued that the trial court misdirected itself in law when it failed to apply the provision of Section 151 of the Electoral Act, 2026, to the appellant’s case, among other grounds.
