By Ebere Agozie
The Benue Election Appeals Tribunal sitting in Abuja has upheld the elections of all the Council Chairmen and Councillors of the state under the umbrella of the All Progressives Party (APC).
The petitioners were largely aspirants from the same APC, who claimed they were rightly nominated but unjustly excluded from the election.
At the elections, split decisions left the incumbents winning in 14 and the petitioners winning in 9 out of the 23 Local Government Areas of the state, a development that led to the appeals from both ends.
Delivering the judgment for Zone A, Justice Michael Ugar, held that the petitioners were duty bound to prove they were first validly nominated before talking of exclusion.
He also held that “the petitioners having failed to prove nomination cannot lay claim to exclusion. Their case is bound to fail and hereby fails and same is dismissed.”
In Zone B, Justice I. Mohammed, held that the provisions of the Benue State Law, 2007 put the issue of nomination of candidates out of the jurisdiction of the trial tribunal.
“The issue of nomination of a candidate is within the domestic affairs of a political party and cannot be litigated at the trial tribunal or this appeal tribunal.
“They do not see a wood in the tree canvassed vigorously by the petitioners. We sit to do justice and not to supervise academic issues.
“We affirm the judgment of the trial tribunal and dismiss the appeal of the petitioners/appellants,” Mohammed said.
Delivering judgment for Zone C, the Appeals Tribunal Chairman, Justice Dennis Igyuse, said the grievances of the petitioners before the lower tribunal could not and cannot be litigated at the tribunal nor the appeal tribunal.
“The petitions of the petitioners are but a reckless display of academic prowess without of course, a destination.
“The consolidated petitions of the petitioners in all of Zone C are dismissed and the local government elections of Oct. 5, 2024 and the return of its winners is hereby upheld.’’
Also, the three petitions filed by the People’s Democratic Party and an earlier petition filed by the Labour Party were all thrown out.
Meanwhile, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Mohammed Ndarani, lead counsel of the state government representing the State Electoral umpire BSIEC, described the judgment as infallible.
Ndarani said the judgement was a reflection of the law, adding that the Justices were the heroes of the process for standing firmly for the cause of right.
He congratulated the council chairmen and councillors on their deserved victories and urged them to remain people-oriented.
He also commended the government of Benue as well as all the lawyers whose industry, commitment and selfless efforts made the process a huge success.
