Mike Igini

A high court sitting in Abuja on Tuesday refused an application to order the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to remove Mr. Mike Igini as the Resident Electoral Commissioner for Akwa Ibom State.

The claimant, one Mr. Stanley Okpara who filed the ex parte application through his counsel, C. F. Odiniru had prayed the court for an order directing INEC (the first defendant in the suit) to remove Mr. Igini (the second defendant) from his current station and redeploy him to another state.

Delivering his ruling, Justice O. A. Musa refused the prayers of the applicant, stating in his considered reasoning that such an order may disrupt INEC’s plan to conduct a free and credible election in the concerned state.

He held that: “Parties should maintain the status quo as of today. To this end, the 1st Defendant either by themselves or Chairman shall not take any step to either remove the 2nd Defendant as the REC as his current station pending the hearing of the motion on notice.”

The court consequently adjourned the matter to March 21, 2019 for the applicant to address it on jurisdiction. It further ordered the applicant to ensure service of the processes on all parties in the suit.