Appeal Court reserves judgment in INEC’s appeals over 2027 election timetable - Businessday NG

The Court of Appeal in Abuja on Wednesday reserved judgment in two appeals filed by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) challenging Federal High Court rulings that questioned aspects of the commission’s timetable and guidelines for the 2027 general elections.

A three-member panel of the appellate court, led by Justice Adebukola Bankole, said the date for the judgment would be communicated to the parties.

The appeals stem from separate suits filed by the Youth Party of Nigeria (YPN) and the Social Democratic Party (SDP), both of which challenged the legality of INEC’s timetable for political activities leading to the 2027 elections.

In one of the cases, Justice Mohammed Umar of the Federal High Court nullified the election timetable after granting the reliefs sought by the YPN. In the second case, Justice James Omotosho granted some of the SDP’s claims while also upholding parts of INEC’s position.

Dissatisfied with the decisions, INEC approached the Court of Appeal, seeking to overturn Justice Umar’s judgment in its entirety and set aside portions of Justice Omotosho’s ruling that it said constrained the commission’s constitutional powers to conduct elections.