• Young lawyers tasked to embrace Public Interest Litigation to fight corruption in govt

A Rivers State High Court sitting in Port Harcourt has adjourned the hearing of a suit filed by a former All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate in the 2015 House of Assembly election in Port Harcourt Constituency 3, Chima Nnokam, and four others, till October 15, 2025. Nnokam, in the suit, is urging the court to declare the August 30 local council election as unconstitutional.

The claimants in their originating summons against the Rivers State Independent Electoral Commission (RSIEC), Attorney General of Rivers State and two financial institutions are seeking declarations that the new RSIEC Chairman and members were unlawfully appointed, therefore, were not competent to conduct the election.

They are also seeking the declaration that the commission’s council elections were unlawful and liable to be set aside due to non-compliance with the Electoral Act.

They further asked the court to restrain the two financial institutions from disbursing funds belonging to the RSIEC, urging the court to set aside all actions taken by the RSIEC Chairman, Mr Michael Odey.

The claimants, in their reliefs, also sought a consequential order of injunction restraining the defendants from parading themselves as members and chairman of RSIEC.

During the hearing, counsel for the 1st to 9th defendants from Afe Babalola’s Chambers claimed their office wasn’t fully briefed and lacked a copy of the processes.

While the counsel for the applicant, Cindy Babalola, had earlier told the court that despite serving other defendants with court processes, none had responded.

However, the court initially suggested resuming the case on September 12, but the defendants’ counsel requested more time to respond to the processes, leading to the presiding Judge, Justice Stephen Jumbo, adjourning the hearing till October 15.

MEANWHILE, young lawyers in Nigeria have been charged to embrace Public Interest Litigations (PIL) to step up fights for accountability and transparency in government.

Public Interest Litigations (PIL) is the use of the legal system to promote causes and rights of public importance, such as environmental protection, human rights and social justice, often on behalf of groups who cannot afford legal representation themselves.

Human rights lawyer, Festus Ogun, gave the charge in Port Harcourt at the Strategic and Public Interest Litigation Lab (Litigalab) organised by the Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) for young lawyers and students.

Ogun stated that the responsibility of holding leaders accountable rests heavily on legal practitioners, encouraging young lawyers to step into the space.