Rivers Assembly issues arrest order for RSIEC Chairman Enebeli over election probe

The Rivers State House of Assembly has issued an arrest order for Justice Adolphus Enebeli (rtd), the Chairman of the Rivers State Independent Electoral Commission (RSIEC), after he failed to appear before the legislators as summoned.

According to Naija News, the arrest order was issued during Monday’s plenary session once the 72-hour deadline set for Enebeli had expired.

Originally, lawmakers had extended a 48-hour deadline to 72 hours last Friday, giving the RSIEC leader a chance to address questions about the annulled local government elections of October 2024. Despite this extension, Enebeli, along with his fellow commissioners, did not attend the session.

In reaction, Enebeli and his commissioners have filed a lawsuit at the State High Court, challenging the Assembly’s decisions. Earlier, Ibierembo Everlyn Thompson, a member of the RSIEC, resigned from her position marking the third resignation following a 48-hour ultimatum for the commission’s chairman to appear before the House of Assembly.

Thompson referenced a recent Supreme Court ruling regarding the local government elections scheduled for October 5, 2024.

After the initial deadline lapsed, the Assembly granted an additional 72 hours for the chairman and his commissioners to clarify the sources of election funding.

The Supreme Court had previously found that the elections were conducted in contravention of the Electoral Act and other relevant regulations.

Anticipating a potential bench warrant from the House of Assembly, headed by Martin Amaewhule, two other commissioners Lazberry Nnah and Professor Simeon Weli—resigned, citing the Supreme Court ruling that invalidated the election.