The Supreme Court on Monday affirmed the election of Reverend Father Hyacinth Alia as Benue State Governor, dismissing the appeal by the Peoples Democratic Party and its candidate Titus Uba in the governorship election.
A five-man panel of justices of the apex Court, dismissed an appeal that the PDP, and its candidate, lodged to challenge the outcome of the election that held in the state on March 18,2023.
The Justice Inyang Okoro-led panel dismissed the appeal after counsel for the appellants, Mr. Sebastian Hon, (SAN), pulled out of the case, which the court noted involved pre-election issues.
Speaking to journalists in Abuja after the judgment, Alia said the victory would ginger him to give his best to the state.
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“I am very excited. It is 100 per cent justice delivered. The victory is for all the people of the state. God leads and this again demonstrates that justice is justice. We are pleased it came to this point. It going to ginger us some more to do great things for the state.
“It is high time everyone comes on board with us for the progress and development of the state. It is a great win for all the great people of the state and we are very excited about the victory,” the Benue State governor noted.
It will recalled that the Court of Appeal in Abuja also affirmed Alia of the APC as the validly elected governor of the state.
The appellate court, in a unanimous decision by a three-member panel of justices, dismissed Uba’s appeal as lacking in merit.
In its lead judgement that was delivered by Justice Onyekachi Aja Otisi, the court said it found no reason to set aside the verdict of the Benue State Governorship Election Petition Tribunal, which had on September 23 validated Alia’s election victory.
It held that some of the grounds the PDP and it candidate raised in the appeal not only bordered on pre-election issues but also had elements of crime.
According to the appellate court, the appellants had raised the issue of forgery against the Deputy Governor of the State, Mr. Samuel Ode.
It held that since the allegation that Ode submitted forged documents to the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, in aid of his qualification to contest the election, was criminal in nature, it ought to have been proved beyond reasonable doubt.
Furthermore, the appellate court stressed that the issue of non-qualification of a candidate, being a pre-election matter, could only be ventilated at the Federal High Court and not before the election tribunal, as was done by the appellants.
It held that since the 14-day period that the 1999 Constitution, as amended, allowed for the eligibility of a candidate in an election to be challenged had elapsed, the issue had become statute-barred.
The Court dismissed the appellants’ contention that the APC failed to submit the name of Governor Alia to INEC at least 180 days before the gubernatorial election was held.
It therefore, held that the argument was worthless in view of the fact that the primary election that produced Alia as the flagbearer of the APC in the governorship election was ordered by a High Court and conducted within the period the court stipulated.
In the final analysis, the appellate Court held that the appellants failed to discharge the burden of proof that was placed on them by the law.
The Court therefore, resolved all the issues that were raised in the appeal against the appellants.
Meanwhile, the proceedings were witnessed by Governor Alia and his Deputy, Samuel Ode, and some other politicians from Benue state .
However, the Election Petitions Tribunal and the Court of Appeal, Abuja, affirmed Alia’s election as Benue governor, following his declaration by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) as the winner of the March 18 governorship election.
The Court of Appeal had said it lacked the jurisdiction to hear the petition because it was a pre-election matter.
The court held that Uba should have prosecuted the forgery allegation against the deputy governor, Sam Ode, at the high court.
It also held that Uba failed to prove allegations of forgery against Ode beyond a reasonable doubt.
On Monday, the PDP candidate pursued the matter to the Supreme Court, and the apex court dismissed his appeal and affirmed Alia’s election.
Alia, a first-time governorship contestant had wrested power from PDP in Benue. Alia succeeded Samuel Ortom of the PDP who was governor of the state for eight years.
