BREAKING: Blow For PDP As Appeal Court Throws Away Case Filed By Its Candidate, Rules In Favour Of APC

The Court of Appeal in Abuja has thrown out the suit filed by the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, candidate seeking to be declared winner. Gathered that the Court also upheld the victory of Hyacinth Alia, declaring him the duly elected governor of Benue state.…CONTINUE READING

Alia, a Catholic priest, secured the win in the March governorship election, amassing 473,933 votes as declared by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

Titus Uba, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate in Benue, challenged Alia’s victory by filing a petition. Uba alleged non-qualification against Deputy Governor Samuel Ode.

However, Justice Onyekachi Aja Otisi, in delivering the lead judgment, dismissed Uba’s claims, stating that he failed to establish forgery of INEC Form EC9 by Ode beyond a reasonable doubt, as required by law.

The Court of Appeal addressed the nature of the allegation, emphasizing that non-qualification is a pre-election matter, which can only be contested at a Federal High Court and not at the Governorship Election Petition Tribunal, where Uba presented his case. Moreover, the court highlighted that a suit challenging non-qualification must be instituted within 14 days of the occurrence, a timeline not adhered to by Uba.

The court also addressed Uba’s claim that the name of Governor Hyacinth Alia was not submitted to INEC by the APC within 180 days before the March 18 election. It held that this allegation could not stand, as the primary election producing Alia was ordered by a High Court and conducted within the stipulated period.

In the final analysis, Justice Otisi concluded that Uba’s appeal against the Benue State Election Petition Tribunal judgment lacked merit.