Rivers High Court stops Nigerian Army from deploying soldiers for Rivers Rerun Elections

The Chief of Defence Staff, the Brigade Commander of Amphibious Brigade and the Chief of Army Staff have been restrained by the a Rivers High Court from deploying soldiers for Saturday's rerun election in the state. Justice George Omereji of the Rivers State High Court sitting in Port Harcourt delivered the ruling in a suit filed by the state Chairman, of the People's Democratic Party (PDP), Bro Felix Obuah and the party itself.

He ruled that "an order of interim order be made and is hereby made restraining, Chief of Defence Staff, Chief of Army Staff, Brigade Commander, 2nd Amphibious Brigade, whether by themselves, their agents, servants, officers and operatives or privies from interfering with the applicants right to freely participate in the  government of Nigeria either directly or through free chosen representatives, threatens to arrest, harass, intimidate, torture, incancerate the applicants and their  members  during  the rerun elections for the State and National Assembly  on  19th March,  2016".

The judge ordered the PDP  to  serve the judgment  on the Military for them to  comply.
"Leave be and is hereby granted the applicants to issue and serve the originating  motion of the jurisdiction of this Honorable court for service on the  Chief of Defence Staff, Chief of Army Staff and the Brigade Commander of Second Amphibious Brigade and INEC at the Federal Capital Territory, FCT," Justice Omereji said.According the court, the judgement was based on the judgment by the  Appeal Court in the  case between the APC and others in 2015, detailing the non involvement of the Army and the Armed Forces  in elections.