The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has been directed to resume the continuous voter registration (CVR) process by a federal high court in Abuja. The sitting judge, Inyang Ekwo, stated that the exercise should continue until 90 days prior to the general election of 2023. Before completing the process physically at specified centers, Nigerians can register or seek an update to their voter information using a portal that the commission launched in June 2021. Prior to the elections in 2023, INEC had set a deadline of June 30 for the CVR. The Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) and 185 other people had sued the election umpire, and a federal high court in Abuja had blocked the commission from ending the exercise. As a result, the commission extended voter registration through July 31.
However, in a new lawsuit with the filing number FHC/ABJ/CS/1343/2022 brought by Anajat Salmat and three other people, the plaintiff stated that INEC could not halt the ongoing voter registration process before the legal deadline. In the ruling issued on Tuesday, Ekwo sided with the plaintiffs and commanded the electoral umpire not to deny voters access to their voter registration cards for the upcoming election.