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2027 Election: Lawyer Sues INEC, 19 Political Parties Over Nomination Fees
Ahead of the 2027 general elections, a human rights lawyer, Ejime Okolie, has sued the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, and 19 political parties over imposition of outrageous expression of interest and nomination fees.
Okolie, suing for himself and on behalf of millions of Nigerian citizens desirous of participating in the electoral process, prayed Justice Binta Nyako of the Federal High Court in Abuja to direct INEC to issue binding guidelines that will regulate reasonable maximum thresholds for the fees.
He also sought an order restraining the parties from fixing or enforcing any expression of interest (EOI) or nomination fees for the primaries of 2027 general elections that have the effect of excluding qualified Nigerian citizens from contesting in the polls.
Besides, he sought an order that the reliefs granted herein shall operate prospectively, for the protection of constitutional rights ahead of the elections.
He urged the court to declare that the fixation, imposition and enforcement of exorbitant fees for nomination forms by the parties prior to 2023 general elections, as a condition to contest in the primaries, excluded many qualified Nigerian citizens, including himself, from the contest.
Okolie said the act violated his fundamental rights to freedom of association guaranteed under Section 40 of the 1999 Constitution (as amended).
He, therefore, urged the court to declare that the imposition of financial barriers which disproportionately exclude ordinary Nigerian citizens from political participation amounts to discrimination contrary to Section 42 of the constitution.
The lawyer, who listed 19 political parties including the All Progressives Congress, APC, Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, African Democratic Congress, ADC, among others, as 1st to 19th respondents, also joined INEC and the Attorney-General of the Federation, AGF, as 20th and 21st respondents in the fresh suit.
Justice Nyako has fixed February 12 for hearing.
President Bola Tinubu has nominated Amb. Ismail Abba Yusuf as the new Chairman/CEO of the National Hajj Commission, NAHCON.
This is contained in a statement by his Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanugu, on Wednesday.
The statement said the appointment is subject to the Senate’s approval in accordance with the provisions of section 3(2) of the NAHCON Act, 2026.
President Tinubu sent a letter today to the Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, requesting the expeditious confirmation of Ambassador Yusuf to replace Professor Abdullahi Usman, who resigned this week, after about 14 months in the post.
Yusuf is a seasoned Nigerian career diplomat who served as the Nigerian Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to the Republic of Türkiye from 2021 to 2024.
Operatives of the Imo State Police Command have arrested two brothers, Lucky and Uzoma Amadi, for allegedly killing their elder brother, Orindu, and burying his body in a shallow grave in Mbaitoli Local Government Area of the state.
The suspects were said to have concealed the alleged crime by repeatedly telling community members that their elder brother had travelled.
Suspicion, however, grew in the community after the brothers reportedly gave conflicting accounts of Orindu’s whereabouts, while all attempts to reach him on the phone failed. This prompted youths of the area to storm the Amadi family compound on Tuesday morning, demanding an explanation from the duo.
An eyewitness, Chidiebube Okeoma who spoke to journalists said the brothers allegedly confessed to the killing in a bid to avoid being lynched by angry youths. According to him, the suspects claimed that Orindu was responsible for the death of their father about 10 years ago under what they described as questionable circumstances.
Following the confession, the suspects reportedly led the youths to a shallow grave within their compound, where Orindu’s remains were exhumed. Okeoma said the situation quickly degenerated, with the youths threatening to carry out jungle justice on the brothers.
“It took the timely intervention of policemen from the Mbieri Police Division to save them,” Okeoma said, adding that a private citizen had alerted the police to the unfolding crisis.
The suspects have since been taken into police custody, while investigations into the incident are ongoing.
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