Governor Mohammed Bago of Niger State | File Image
lawyers
By Mohammed Usman
Lawyer representing the opposition parties in the recently conducted Local Government Council (LGC) election in Niger State have raised concerns over alleged refusal of the Niger State Independent Electoral Commission (NSIEC) to release Certified True Copies (CTC) of election materials to enable them file their petitions.
The LGC election of November 1, 2025 marred by electoral irregularities including; ballot boxes snatching, destruction of electoral materials, arrest and detention of opposition voices, diversion of electoral materials, voters apathy, harrassment of voters, late arrival or no supply of electoral materials in most of the Wards and polling units, especially opposition parties’ strongholds, yet results from the areas were declared.
While the Governor Mohammed Umar Bago-led administration had been accused of implementing the APC mantra of denying citizens of the rights to choice of who to represent them by ‘crushing, grabbing, snatching and running away with it’, against the wishes of Nigerlites, others alleged high level of religious bias as all the candidates said to have been sponsored by the state government belonged to one particular religion.
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Mr. Emmanuel Egbonoje, the lawyer representing Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Chairmanship candidate, Rijau Local Government, in the recently concluded election, Umar Buda Abubakar, accused the NSIEC of frustrating efforts by aggrieved contestants to seek legal redress.
“NSIEC has refused to release certified true copies of election materials needed to enable us file petitions”, Egbonoje told journalists in an interview, adding that a formal letter to that effect was sent to NSIEC, but nothing has been done by the relevant authorities.
He said, “We have written to the Niger State Independent Electoral Commission requesting for the CTC of the election materials conducted in Rijau local government but our request is yet to be granted by the NSIEC.
“From the look of things we may likely not get the CTC as expected because we don’t have time on our side and that’s part of their plan. It is all part of the delay tactics by the NSIEC because they know well enough that the tribunal has time limits.” the PDP candidate’s lawyer told journalists.
Egbonoje recalled that they applied for the documents exactly ten days after the election, on November 11th, adding that the NSIEC was always coming up with flimsy excuse or the other on why the said documents were not available.
“NSIEC officials claimed that the materials were unavailable due to security reasons”, describing the response as shocking, because such documents should normally be ready few days after elections.”
After several excuses, Egbonoje said NSIEC promised that the materials would be ready over the weekend, but when he and the candidate visited their office on November 15th, they met the Secretary, who told them that he was not authorized to release any such documents, and that none of the senior officials were available.
The lawyer, who expressed frustrations he and his client had been subjected to by the NSIEC and their clandestine maneuverings, expressed disappointment with the electoral umpire for going against its words during meeting with stakeholders before the election.
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