A High Court 7 sitting in Jalingo, the Taraba State capital, yesterday struck out the case of Youth Party (YP) against the Taraba State Independent Electoral Commission (TSIEC).
The youth party had, on September 5, 2025, dragged TSIEC and the State Attorney General and Commissioner of Justice to court, praying the court to grant a perpetual injunction restraining the commission from conducting the November 8 local government elections.
The party also demanded that the court halt the high cost of fees for candidates and their political parties.
Justice Yahay Goje, in his ruling, said the case of the petitioner lacked merit and therefore struck it out.
The judge stated that the TSIEC’s power to conduct elections is not in doubt and is not in conflict with the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
Justice Goje cited section 35 of the TSIEC Act, 2025, passed by the Taraba State House of Assembly, which is in line with section 107 of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
While stressing that TSIEC’s conduct has not contravened the provisions of the Constitution, he stated that the petitioner had not provided sufficient evidence to demonstrate that the actions of TSIEC conflicted with the law.
Counsel for the Youth party, Uresiten Jacob Afeyib Esq, thanked the judge for his wisdom and for acknowledging that the party had the right to approach the court on the matter.
He stated that, in the judge’s opinion, the TSIEC had the power to regulate the election process, as the procedure differs from the qualification and disqualification of parties.
The petitioner’s counsel said after consulting with his client, they wiould decide whether to appeal the matter or not.
Barrister Christopher Siman Gani, the counsel for the first and second respondents, also thanked the court for allowing him to be guided by the relevant laws.
Gani, who is the Director of Civil Litigation in the state Ministry of Justice, said that any organisation or law that had passed through the legislative process and was not inconsistent with the constitution was valid.
He agreed with the court’s position that the commission had the right to conduct its election as planned.
Meanwhile, the State Independent Electoral Commission has distributed sensitive and non-sensitive materials to the 16 local governments ahead of Saturday’s local government election in the state.
The distribution of the materials took place at the headquarters of the Taraba State Independent Electoral Commission today in Jalingo.
Chairman of the Commission, Dr Philip Duwe, stressed that the electoral materials will be sent to various polling units before the scheduled election time.
Dr Duwe appealed to the media to inform and educate the people of the state about election procedures.
The Chairman called on all eligible voters to come out en masse to exercise their franchise by voting for leaders of their choice during the local Government Elections in the state.
Commenting on the security arrangements put in place for the smooth conduct of the Elections, the chairman said he had meetings with the heads of security agencies in the state and was assured of adequate security before, during, and after the local Government council elections this weekend.
The electoral materials distributed include ballot papers, ballot boxes, ink, as well as various forms of 8A, 8B, 8C, and 8D forms, among other sensitive materials.
The distributed materials are expected to reach the 158 wards, as well as 3,350 polling units in the state, through the 16 Local Government Electoral officers of the commission before Saturday, 8th November 2025.
