Abuja – The Court of Appeal sitting in Abuja on Wednesday reserved judgment in two appeals filed by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) challenging Federal High Court decisions that nullified aspects of its timetable and guidelines for the 2027 general elections.
The appellate panel, led by Justice Adebukola Bankole, announced that a date for judgment would be communicated to all parties.
The legal battle followed separate suits instituted by the Youth Party of Nigeria (YPN) and the Social Democratic Party (SDP), which challenged the legality of INEC’s 2027 election timetable.
While Justice Mohammed Umar of the Federal High Court nullified the timetable in the suit filed by the YPN, Justice James Omotosho, in the SDP case, granted some reliefs in favour of the opposition party while upholding others in favour of INEC.
Dissatisfied with both judgments, INEC approached the Court of Appeal, seeking to overturn Justice Umar’s ruling and portions of Justice Omotosho’s judgment that restricted the electoral body’s powers in conducting elections.
Arguing the appeals, INEC’s lead counsel, Dr. Alex Izinyon (SAN), maintained that the electoral umpire was fully empowered under the 1999 Constitution and the Electoral Act to issue election guidelines and fix timetables for political activities ahead of elections.
He told the court that both the Supreme Court and the Court of Appeal had consistently affirmed INEC’s constitutional authority to organise, supervise and conduct elections, including determining the timetable for pre-election activities.
Izinyon faulted the trial court’s interpretation of the constitutional provision on the timeline for political activities, arguing that the lower court adopted an overly rigid and mathematical approach contrary to the intention of the lawmakers.
According to him, the constitutional requirement that certain activities be conducted “not later than 120 days and not more than 90 days” before an election does not mandate an exact 120-day period but provides a permissible timeframe.
He further argued that the respondents failed to present evidence showing they had suffered any injury arising from the timetable, insisting that the declaratory reliefs granted by the lower court ought not to have been awarded.
Before the substantive appeals were heard, INEC also urged the appellate court to bar the Youth Party of Nigeria from defending the appeal after it failed to file its respondent’s brief within the time allowed under the Court of Appeal’s Practice Directions on pre-election matters.
Counsel to the YPN, Akinwale Irokosun, admitted that the party had not filed any response to INEC’s application.
The appellate court reserved its ruling on the preliminary applications to be delivered alongside its judgment on the substantive appeals.
INEC also opposed YPN’s application seeking an extension of time to file its respondent’s brief out of time, arguing that the applicable rules do not permit any extension once the deadline has expired.
Izinyon further contended that the respondent’s brief was incompetent because it was filed outside the stipulated five-day period and exceeded the maximum 25-page limit prescribed by the court’s rules, running to 37 pages.
The outcome of the appeal is expected to determine the legality of INEC’s timetable and guidelines for the conduct of the 2027 general elections.
