A civil right group, the Society for Advancement and Protection of Public Rights (SAPPR) has dragged Nigeria’s electoral body to court, seeking an order to compel the use of permanent and temporary voter cards for the 2015 general elections.
The suit against the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) was filed in a Federal High Court in Abuja, the nation’s capital on Thursday.
The body urged the court to order INEC to allow the use of the Temporary Voter Card (TVC) issued legally to Nigerians in 2011 along with the Permanent Voter Card (PVC) in order not to disenfranchise over 20 million Nigerians who are yet to access the PVC.
In the suit instituted by Mr Eze Anumnu, the rights group pleaded that the use of both cards would enable all eligible Nigerians to vote in the election and make the election credible, free and fair to the entire Nigerian and the international community.
According to the group, there was no law that empowered INEC to insist on PVC as the only acceptable card for voting.
The SAPPR did not, however, call for the postponement of the polls.
It is less than 17 days to the commencement of the general elections and the case is yet to be assigned.