By Ovasa Ogaga,
The Court of Appeal has dismissed an appeal filed by some Itsekiri representatives seeking to halt the implementation of the Supreme Court-ordered fresh delineation of electoral wards and polling units in the Warri Federal Constituency of Delta State, affirming an earlier judgment of the Federal High Court and awarding N4 million costs against the appellants.
The appeal, marked CA/ABJ/CV/1457/2025: Hon. Appearance Afejuku & Ors v. INEC & Ors, was filed by Hon. Appearance Afejuku, identified as the Youth President of the Itsekiri Ethnic Nationality, alongside three others.
Delivering judgment on Friday, May 15, 2026, a three-member panel of the appellate court presided over by Justice Uchechukwu Onyemenam dismissed the appeal for lacking merit and upheld the N4 million cost earlier awarded against the appellants.
The appellate court held that the issue surrounding the delineation of electoral wards and polling units in Warri Federal Constituency had already been conclusively determined by the Supreme Court of Nigeria in its December 2, 2022, judgment in suit number SC/413/2016: Hon. George U. Timinimi & 9 Ors v. INEC.
The judgment effectively clears the way for the Independent National Electoral Commission to proceed with the full implementation of the apex court’s directive on fresh delineation ahead of future elections in the Warri Federal Constituency.
It would be recalled that Justice Omotosho of the Federal High Court had on July 1, 2025, dismissed the suit seeking to restrain INEC from implementing the Supreme Court judgment, describing the action as a gross abuse of court process and lacking in merit.
The lower court had agreed with submissions made by counsel representing INEC as well as representatives of the Ijaw and Urhobo ethnic nationalities in Warri and consequently awarded N4 million costs against the plaintiffs.
Dissatisfied with the ruling, the Itsekiri appellants proceeded to the Court of Appeal, urging the appellate court to overturn the judgment and stop the delineation exercise.
However, in dismissing the appeal, the Court of Appeal reaffirmed that the matter had already been settled by the apex court and could not be reopened through fresh litigation.
The court’s decision is widely seen as a major legal victory for the implementation of the Supreme Court judgment mandating fresh electoral delineation in Warri Federal Constituency before subsequent elections are conducted.
In a related development, the Federal High Court sitting in Warri also dismissed another suit filed by Itsekiri plaintiffs challenging the interim report released by INEC on the fresh delineation exercise.
The suit, marked FHC/WR/CS/37/2025: Ejeyi Philip & Ors v. INEC, sought an order setting aside the interim delineation report issued by INEC on May 3, 2025.
The plaintiffs had argued that the Itsekiri ethnic nationality was not consulted before the delineation exercise was carried out.
But the court held that there was no provision in the Supreme Court judgment requiring INEC to consult the Itsekiri before implementing the directive on delineation.
The court further described the suit as premature, noting that the interim report issued by INEC was merely a proposal and not a final document.
According to the court, the challenge lacked merit since the delineation process was still ongoing and subject to further administrative procedures before final implementation.
