CJN summons judges over conflicting court orders in Rivers political crisis

Kudirat Kekere-Ekun, the chief justice of Nigeria (CJN), has summoned some judges over conflicting court rulings concerning political cases in Rivers state.

The CJN also summoned the chief judge of the federal high court for questioning on Tuesday.

The National Judicial Council (NJC) has set up a panel to probe the judges, while the CJN has ordered that the report be submitted this week.

The panel will be headed by a former court of appeal justice and two heads of courts.

The chief judge of Rivers state high court will also appear before the NJC panel next week for the same purpose.

The summons comes after formal complaints were filed with the council.

On September 4, a high court in the state held that the Rivers State Independent Electoral Commission (RSIEC) could conduct the LGA elections using the 2023 voter register.

However, on September 30, a federal high court in Abuja barred the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) from releasing the voter register to RSIEC.

The court also restrained the Nigeria Police Force (NPF) and other security agencies from providing security during the polls.

However, the Rivers governor insisted that RSIEC would proceed with the election, saying the court order did not stop the exercise.

On October 2, INEC said it had not released the voter register in compliance with the ruling — but RSIEC said it had received a copy of the register from INEC since 2023.

On October 5, the Rivers state Independent Electoral Commission (RSIEC) conducted council elections in the 23 LGAs in the state.

The election was held amid a lingering feud between Wike, the immediate former governor of Rivers, and Siminalayi Fubara, his successor.