Court Halts INC National Elections: High Court Issues Restraining Order Against Ijaw National Congress
The highly anticipated National Elections of the Ijaw National Congress (INC), originally scheduled for Saturday, March 7, 2026, have been officially stalled following a last-minute legal intervention by the High Court of Rivers State.
In a significant ruling delivered on Friday, March 6, 2026, Hon. Justice S.H. Aprioku, sitting at High Court No. 8 in the Port Harcourt Judicial Division, granted an interim order of injunction restraining the conduct of the polls. The decision followed the hearing of a motion for an interim injunction argued by Dr. Uche Ejike Ogwudu, Esq., appearing alongside Boma Wariboka, Esq. and Uzondu Ekwueme, Esq. for the Claimant/Applicant, while Celestial I. Nwani, Esq. appeared for the 12th Defendant/Respondent.
The court’s order is explicit in its reach, restraining the Defendants, their servants, agents, privies, or any person acting on their behalf from conducting the National Elections of the 12th Defendants on March 7 or any other date. This judicial suspension remains in effect pending the resolution of the current dispute by an Internal Dispute Resolution Committee, which has been given a seven-day window to mediate the conflict.
Justice Aprioku outlined a clear roadmap for the legal process, noting that should the parties successfully resolve their grievances internally within the stipulated timeframe, the court would be open to abridging the time for a follow-up hearing to expedite the electoral process.
However, the ruling also provided a firm fallback position: should the internal committee fail to reach a resolution, the case will proceed in open court. In such an event, all pending applications related to the dispute are scheduled to be heard and determined on March 18, 2026.
The Ijaw National Congress, the apex socio-cultural body for the Ijaw nation, was on the verge of a major leadership transition before this judicial halt. With the restraining order now in force, the elections cannot proceed as planned. The court’s intervention is seen as a necessary measure to ensure that the leadership of the Congress is established on a foundation of equity and internal harmony, protecting the integrity of the organization’s democratic process.
Stakeholders and delegates, many of whom had already arrived for the exercise, are now looking toward the internal resolution committee to see if a consensus can be reached before the matter returns to the courtroom later this month.
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