The Benue State Governorship Election Petition Tribunal, sitting in Makurdi, on Saturday upheld the victory of Governor Hyacinth Alia of the APC in the March 18 Governorship Election.
In an unanimous decision, the tribunal dismissed the petition brought forward by Titus Uba and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
Chairman of the Panel, Justice Ibrahim Karaye, ruled that the tribunal lacked jurisdiction to address pre-election issues raised by the petitioners, Titus Uba and the PDP. He clarified that only the Federal High Court had exclusive jurisdiction to handle matters concerning pre-election issues.
Furthermore, he deemed the petitioners’ case as an abuse of court processes, noting that the same case had been filed by them before the Federal High Court Abuja Division, and its judgment had not been challenged.
Justice Karaye also pointed out that the petitioners lacked the legal standing to challenge the nomination of the 2nd and 3rd respondents by the 4th respondent, as they were not members of the 4th respondent.
Additionally, he stated that the petitioners had failed to provide sufficient evidence to support their allegations of forgery against the 3rd respondent.
Concluding the judgment, Justice Karaye affirmed that the 2nd and 3rd respondents were qualified to contest the March 18 Governorship Election, ultimately dismissing the case brought by the petitioners.
The petitioners, Titus Uba and the PDP, had initially taken their grievances to the tribunal, challenging the declaration of the respondents—INEC, Hyacinth Alia, Dr. Sam Ode, and the APC—by INEC.
Their primary arguments centred on the eligibility of the 2nd and 3rd respondents, Governor Alia and Dr. Ode, to participate in the election.
They also alleged irregularities in the nomination of the governorship and deputy governorship candidates by the 4th respondent, the APC. Furthermore, they accused the 3rd respondent of presenting a forged certificate to INEC.
In their plea, the petitioners requested the nullification of the election results and the declaration of themselves as winners, having obtained the second-highest number of lawful votes.
They also called for the invalidation of their votes and the withdrawal of certificates issued to them by INEC due to their purported disqualification.
It’s important to note that the petitioners did not contest the election results but rather the qualifications of the candidates.
However, the respondents argued that the suit should be entirely dismissed as it constituted an abuse of court processes. They emphasized that the Federal High Court Abuja Division had previously ruled on the same matter before the election, and the petitioners had not appealed that judgment.
The respondents further maintained that all the issues raised were pre-election matters, falling under the exclusive jurisdiction of the Federal High Court.
They contended that the petitioners lacked the legal right to challenge the nominations of candidates from other political parties as they were outsiders in those party affairs.
