Court Blocks Ijaw National Congress Election Over Leadership Dispute

The planned national election of the Ijaw National Congress (INC) scheduled for Saturday, March 7, 2026, has been stopped by a court order following a legal dispute.

A judge of the Rivers State High Court, Justice S. H. Aprioku, sitting in Court No. 8 in Port Harcourt, issued an interim injunction on Friday, March 6, restraining the conduct of the election.

The ruling came after a motion for an interim injunction filed by the claimant and argued in court by lawyers led by Dr. Uche Ejike Ogwudu, alongside Boma Wariboka and Uzondu Ekwueme, while Celestial I. Nwani represented the 12th defendant in the case.

In his order, the judge restrained the defendants and their representatives from conducting the national election of the organisation on March 7 or any other date until the dispute is resolved.

The court directed that the matter should first be handled by an internal dispute resolution committee of the organisation, which has been given seven days to mediate and settle the disagreement among the parties involved.

According to the court, if the parties resolve their differences within the given time, the case may return to court for a quick hearing to allow the electoral process to continue.

However, the judge also stated that if the internal committee fails to settle the matter, the case will proceed in court and all pending applications relating to the dispute will be heard on March 18, 2026.

The INC, which is the apex socio-cultural organisation of the Ijaw people, was preparing to hold its national election on Saturday before the court intervened.

With the restraining order now in place, the election cannot go ahead as scheduled.

Many stakeholders and delegates who had already travelled from different parts of the country for the exercise are now waiting to see whether the internal committee will resolve the dispute before the case returns to court later in the month.