By Festus Ahon

ASABA—A Federal High Court sitting in Warri, Delta State, has ordered the restoration of Ughelli South constituency 1 and Isoko North constituency 1, suspended by Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC.

Delivering judgment on the matter brought before it by one Mr. Godwin Sito, and five others against INEC, the presiding judge, Justice Shitu Abubakar, ordered INEC to immediately conduct a by-election to fill the vacant seats created by the unlawful suspension of the two constituencies.

Before 1999, Ughelli South and Isoko North had two state constituencies each but INEC suspended one constituency each in the two local government areas in 1999.

Abubakar, in the judgment said: “Accordingly, reliefs one, two, three, four, five, six and seven are granted, while relief eight is hereby refused for the purposes of future elections.”

Counsel to the plaintiffs, Mr. John Okoriko, said: “This is a landmark judgment which has actually sustained our democracy. The ripple effect of the judgment is that it has restored the political rights and privileges appertaining to the good people of Ughelli South constituency 1and the people of Isoko North constituency 1.”