A civil society group has taken legal action against President Bola Tinubu, the Attorney-General of the Federation, and the National Assembly over the nomination of electoral officers for the Rivers State Independent Electoral Commission (RSIEC).
The group, Center for Reform and Public Advocacy, filed the suit at the Federal High Court in Abuja, arguing that the President and the Senate have no legal authority to appoint or approve officers for a state electoral body.
The case, registered as FHC/ABJ/CR/1196/2025, was filed through lawyer Kalu Kalu Agu.
According to the group, the Nigerian Constitution grants only the Governor of Rivers State the power to appoint the chairman and members of RSIEC.
They urged the court to nullify the nomination list forwarded by the President to the Senate and stop any further attempts to approve or appoint electoral officers for the state by federal authorities.
The group also asked the court to rule that the National Assembly cannot accept or act on nominations from the President in relation to the Rivers electoral body.
It described the Senate’s approval of the list as unlawful and asked the court to void the action.
In an affidavit supporting the case, the group stated that on March 18, 2025, President Tinubu, acting on advice from the AGF, declared a state of emergency in Rivers State.
This reportedly led to the removal of the elected governor and was followed by a list of RSIEC nominees being sent to the Senate.
The group noted that the existing RSIEC, already set up by the state governor, is still validly in office and has not been dissolved or replaced legally.
It also mentioned that the commission conducted local government elections in the state on October 5, 2024, and its members have not resigned or been lawfully removed.
The suit further asks the court to order the defendants to respect the Constitution, which they all swore to uphold.
Other defendants in the case include the Rivers State Governor, the RSIEC, and Justice Adolphus Enebeli, who chairs the state electoral body.
The court has not yet fixed a date for the hearing.
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