Court bars INEC from processing petition to recall Senator Natasha Akpoti
The Federal High Court in Lokoja has issued an interim injunction preventing the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) from accepting or processing a petition allegedly containing falsified signatures aimed at recalling Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan.
The ruling, delivered on Thursday in suit number FHC/LKJ/CS/13/2025, followed an ex parte application filed by Anebe Jacob Ogirima and four other registered voters from Kogi Central Senatorial District.
The plaintiffs argued that INEC should be barred from acting on the petition, which they claimed was based on fraudulent signatures.
The application was presented by Smart Nwachimere Esq. of West-Idahosa, SAN & Co. and was supported by an affidavit of extreme urgency along with other legal documents.
The plaintiffs sought to restrain INEC from processing or conducting any referendum based on the petition.
Presiding over the case, Justice Isa H. Dashen granted the request, ruling that INEC and its representatives must not act on any recall petition until its legitimacy is determined.
In his ruling, Justice Dashen stated:
“An interim injunction is hereby granted restraining the defendant, its staff, agents, privies, or assigns from receiving, accepting, or acting in any way whatsoever on any purported petitions submitted to the defendant by any person or persons, containing fictitious signatures and names of purported members of Kogi Central Senatorial District, and from conducting any referendum whatsoever upon such petition for the purpose of initiating a recall process against Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, pending the determination of the Motion on Notice.”
The court directed that INEC be served with the enrolled order along with the Motion on Notice, pending the resolution of the substantive suit.
The case has been adjourned to May 6, 2025, for a report on service and further proceedings.
The move to recall Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan has been met with widespread controversy, with reports alleging that political figures loyal to former Kogi State Governor Yahaya Bello and Senate President Godswill Akpabio are behind the recall push.
Multiple reports indicate that a fraudulent scheme was used to collect signatures for the petition.
According to SaharaReporters investigation, residents of Kogi Central were allegedly misled into signing recall documents under the pretext of an empowerment program.
Several video clips obtained by SaharaReporters appear to show unsuspecting residents being tricked into providing their signatures and voter details, believing they were registering for financial aid.
In one of the videos, a resident can be heard exposing the scheme:
“We are not here for the recall process of Natasha. We are here for an empowerment. And we were given instructions to come with our voter cards. They told us to come here for empowerment with our voter cards.”
Another resident, Mrs. Joseph, described the process as fraudulent:
“I call the recall process a mess. Nobody was aware of it at all. These people deceived them with the promise of empowerment. It was only when we arrived that many of us realized this was not normal.”
She further stated:
“People started leaving. I see it as a fraud, and they are doing something the people do not support. I myself do not support it, and the majority of people in this local government are against it.”
A young man who attended the event also confirmed the deception, stating:
“Early this morning, we were informed that we should come for empowerment. When we got to the field, we were asked to bring our voter cards. We asked why because we were told this was just an empowerment. Then they gave us a form to fill in with our VIN (Voter Identification Number) and signature. Most of us refused because we knew empowerment is not done this way.”
Reports suggest that this scheme is part of a larger political plot allegedly orchestrated by Yahaya Bello and Senate President Godswill Akpabio to forcefully remove Senator Akpoti-Uduaghan from office.
The recall process follows weeks of mounting political tension in Kogi Central. Efforts to remove Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan from office gained momentum after she was suspended from the Senate.
Her suspension came shortly after she accused Senate President Godswill Akpabio of sexual harassment.
Sources claim that the recall petition is politically motivated, with opponents allegedly forging signatures to manipulate the process.
For now, the court’s interim injunction has temporarily halted INEC’s processing of the recall petition.
The matter will be further deliberated on May 6, 2025, when the court reconvenes.
