*******Appeal Court Dismisses Itsekiri Bid to Stop Warri Delineation.
*******As Appeal Court Awards N4m Costs Against Itsekiri Appellant
****Appeal Court Described Suit By Itsekiri Appellant as Premature.
********Court Ruled That Supreme Court Judgment Contained no Requirement as regards consultation of Itsekiri Appellant
By Victor Bieni
In an epic Judgement, the Court of Appeal, Abuja Judicial Division, has dismissed an appeal filed by Itsekiri representatives seeking to halt the enforcement of the Supreme Court-ordered delineation of electoral wards and polling units in the Warri Federal Constituency of Delta State.
Royal Paradise Media (News Online) learnt this today being on Monday, May 18, 2026 in a Court document which contains the Appeal marked CA/ABJ/CV/1457/2025 and filed by Appearance Afejuku, Youth President of the Itsekiri Ethnic Nationality, and three others against the Independent National Electoral Commission and other parties was recently dismissed by a three-member panel presided over by Justice Uchechukwu Onyemenam.
This, as contained in the document of the Appeal Court Judgment made available to some group of Journalists in Asaba, Delta State Capital as the appellate court upheld an earlier ruling delivered on July 1, 2025, by Justice Omotosho of the Federal High Court, Abuja.
As contained in the document of the Appeal Court Judgment, the court had dismissed the suit for being an abuse of court process and lacking merit, a position argued by counsel for INEC, the Ijaws, and the Urhobos of Warri. The court also awarded costs of N4 million against the appellants.
You could recall that, Itsekiri appellants had challenged INEC’s move to implement the Supreme Court judgment in SC/413/2016: Hon. George U. Timinimi & 9 Ors v. INEC, delivered on December 2, 2022.
The Itsekiri Appellant argued against the fresh delineation exercise, but the Court of Appeal ruled on Friday, May 15, 2026, that the matter had been conclusively resolved by the apex court.
In its judgment, the appellate court held that: “The appeal lacked merit and uphold the N4 million cost awarded against the appellants”.
“The decision, the court stated, paves the way for INEC to proceed with the implementation of the Supreme Court’s directive on fresh delineation ahead of future elections”.
“In a related development, the Federal High Court sitting in Warri dismissed another suit filed by Itsekiri plaintiffs seeking to set aside INEC’s interim report on the delineation exercise. The suit, FHC/WR/CS/37/2025: Ejeyi Philip & Ors v. INEC, challenged the interim report released by the commission on May 3, 2025”.
“The plaintiffs had argued that they were not consulted before the exercise was carried out. The court, however, ruled that the Supreme Court judgment contained no such requirement and described the suit as premature, noting that the interim report remains a proposal subject to further review”.