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The people of Obetim-Uno Community in Afor, Ndokwa East Local Government Area of Delta State, today, dragged the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, to Justice Nnamdi Dimgba of Federal Court Asaba for breaching their fundamental human rights since 1999.
The community in a statement jointly signed by the Paramount ruler of the community, Oghene Annie Nwose, the Okpala-Uku of Obetim-Uno, Chief Prince Okuguni, Chief J.E. Okuse, Community Chief and secretary respectively and four others, and made available to the media in Asaba stated, “We are in court to end the constitutional breach, rights abuse and political slavery they have suffered for two decades”.
They also appealed to the state Governor, Senator Ifeanyi Okowa, “To come to our aid in addressing decades-long neglect by successive administration that has abandoned us after successive elections since 1999, without any form of development neither in human capital, road construction, employment, elective nor political appointments, since the advent of this democracy.”
In the writ of summons deposed at the court by their counsel, Barr. Collins Osagu, in suit number: A/FHC/ASB/CS/63/2019, in the case that has INEC, INEC Chairman and the state Resident Electoral Commissioner, dated May, 2, 2019, the community is seeking , ” A declaration that the defendants’ removal of the plaintiffs’ electoral activities from Ndokwa East Local Government Area without any justifiable reason is unconstitutional.
“An order directing the defendants to immediately relocate the electoral activities of the plaintiffs from Ndokwa West Local Government Area back to Ndokwa East Local Government Area to enable the plaintiffs participate in subsequent elections like other citizens of Nigeria; the sum of N500million, being damages against the defendants jointly and severally for unlawfully depriving the plaintiffs of their rights of participating in general elections in Nigeria from 1999 to 2019,” they further claim.
They also demand, “An order of perpetual injunction restraining the defendants, whether by their servants, agents, privies or otherwise, howsoever, from further depriving the plaintiffs of their rights to engage in subsequent electoral process under Ndokwa East Local Government Area’.
The statement, which is titled ‘Gross Injustice and Marginalization Obetim-Uno Community also referred the state government’s attention, “To the oppression suffered by the community as we have been denied elective and voting rights in our local government area and democratic dividends of any kind.”