High Court Upholds Ijaw National Congress Election, Grants Injunction
Warri – The High Court of Justice, Warri Judicial Division, Delta State, has dismissed a preliminary objection challenging the competence and jurisdiction of a suit filed over the leadership election of the Ijaw National Congress (INC).
In a ruling delivered on Friday, May 8, 2026, Justice Anthony Olotu Akpovi dismissed the objection filed by the first defendant, HRM King Bubaraye Dakolo Agada IV, and awarded a cost of N500,000 in favour of the claimant, High Chief Macdonald E. Igbadiwei Esq., who sued on behalf of the newly elected National Executive of the INC.
The suit, marked W/125/2026, involved several defendants, including Prof. Benjamin Ogele Okaba and members of the INC Electoral Committee for the 2026 national elections.
The claimant had approached the court seeking an interlocutory injunction to restrain the defendants from truncating or interfering with the swearing-in of executive members elected during the April 13, 2026 INC election pending the determination of the substantive suit.
Justice Akpovi held that filing the suit in Delta State did not amount to forum shopping, noting that some of the parties involved reside in Delta State and that no constitutional or statutory provision barred the claimant from instituting the matter there.
The court further ruled that there was no evidence showing that any court of concurrent jurisdiction had restrained the conduct of the election or the swearing-in of the elected officers.
In his ruling, the judge stated that the urgency of the matter stemmed from the alleged threat to disrupt the swearing-in process and maintained that the election could only be challenged through due legal process.
The court consequently granted reliefs one to three in the motion for interlocutory injunction, thereby restraining the defendants from interfering with the inauguration of the newly elected INC executives and from conducting another election pending the hearing of the substantive suit.
Justice Akpovi also directed security agencies, including the Nigeria Police, to ensure law and order during the swearing-in ceremony.
Additionally, the court ruled that the INC constitution does not restrict swearing-in ceremonies to Bayelsa State, stating that such ceremonies could validly take place in Rivers State or Delta State zonal offices.
The substantive suit was granted accelerated hearing, with parties ordered to amend and respond to processes within specified timelines. Hearing dates were fixed for May 29 and June 29, 2026.
