A Kogi State High Court sitting in Koton Karfe has dismissed a lawsuit seeking to challenge the tenure of local government officials and stop the local council elections scheduled for October 17, 2026.

The ruling, delivered by Justice Aminu Eri on Friday, October 9, followed a legal challenge brought by a former councillor in Ibaji Local Government Area over his removal from office after serving two years. The court held that the claimant had failed to establish any inconsistency between Kogi State’s local government laws, the Electoral Act 2026 and the 1999 Constitution, as amended. (Channels Television)

The claimant had asked the court to interpret provisions of the Kogi State Local Government Law 2023 and its 2025 amendments, arguing that the two-year and three-year tenure arrangements under state law violated Section 7 of the Constitution.

His legal team, led by Senior Advocate of Nigeria J.A. Akubo, argued that local government chairmen and councillors should serve four-year terms, relying on provisions of the Electoral Act 2026 governing the tenure of Area Council officials in the Federal Capital Territory.

The suit also sought an order restraining the Kogi State Independent Electoral Commission (KOSIEC) from proceeding with the planned local government elections.

However, the defendants — the Kogi State Government, KOSIEC and the Kogi State House of Assembly — opposed the claim, maintaining that state legislatures have constitutional authority to make laws governing the structure and administration of local government councils.

In his judgment, Justice Eri held that Section 7(1) of the Constitution guarantees democratically elected local government councils but does not expressly establish a uniform four-year tenure for chairmen, vice-chairmen and councillors across all states.

The judge also distinguished the rules governing Federal Capital Territory Area Councils from those applicable to local government councils established under state laws.

He explained that Section 112 of the Electoral Act 2026 provides for a four-year tenure for FCT Area Council officials, while Section 153 addresses procedures for local government elections conducted by state electoral commissions. According to the court’s reasoning, the latter provision does not automatically extend the FCT’s substantive tenure rules to local councils in Kogi State. (Radio Kogi)

Justice Eri consequently found that the claimant had not demonstrated that the relevant provisions of the Kogi State Local Government Law were invalid simply because they prescribed shorter tenures than those applicable to FCT Area Councils. He dismissed the suit for lacking merit.

Following the judgment, counsel representing the Kogi State House of Assembly, S.A. Abbas and Dr Abdulwahab Zakari, welcomed the decision, describing it as a reaffirmation of the state legislature’s authority over local government tenure arrangements.

Counsel to the claimant said the legal team would study the full judgment before deciding on its next course of action. The available reports do not establish whether an appeal has subsequently been filed.

The ruling comes shortly before Kogi’s local government elections, which KOSIEC has scheduled for Saturday, October 17, across the state’s 21 local government areas, 239 electoral wards and 3,508 polling units. The commission has urged political parties, candidates and other stakeholders to support a peaceful and orderly electoral process. (Kogi State Government)

While the judgment removes this particular legal challenge to the poll, it does not by itself establish that every possible legal or administrative issue surrounding the election has been resolved.

Reporting by TalkNaijaMedia