I Did Not Stop Sequence Of Election – Justice Auta

Justice Ibrahim Auta of a Federal High Court, Abuja Division on Wednesday debunked the reports as contained in a newspaper alleging that he stopped the sequence of election as planned by the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, in the forth coming April election.

This was contained in a statement issued by the Deputy Chief Registrar of the court in Abuja, Mr. Emmanuel Gakko and made available to judicial correspondents.

Part of the statement read, “Our attention has been drawn to newspaper reports alleging that His Lordship, the Honourable Justice Ibrahim Auta had on Thursday 3rd March 2011 declared INEC’s timetable for the April 2011 elections, illegal, unconstitutional, void and of no effect whatsoever.

“For the avoidance of doubt, in order to put the record straight and to remove the confusion in public places as a result of the said publication, created by the wrong interpretation and reporting of His Lordship’s ruling of 3/3/2011, we state unequivocally that the content and import of His Lordship’s Order of 3/3/2011is  as follows:

*That section 25(1) of the Electoral Act, in so far as it repeats the provisions of sections 76(1), 116(1), 132(1) and 178(1) of the 1999 Constitution is inoperative and void for duplication, inconsistent and lacking legislative competency.

*That the plaintiff’s reliefs 2,3,4 are not granted as they have no meaning or merit at all.

*That the court has no power whatsoever to Order INEC not to go ahead as per the time table for the April 2011 Elections as provided by INEC”.

It had earlier been reported that the court had nullified the sequence of general elections as rolled by the Commission in its Electoral Guidelines and time table of activities for the April polls.

By Nnamdi Felix / Abuja