The election of Hyacinth Alia as governor of Benue State, Northcentral Nigeria has been affirmed by the Court of Appeal in Abuja, on Monday.
This is coming after the state tribubal upheld Alia’s election. The candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party Titus Uba had approached the appellate court over the March 18 governorship election, to set aside the judgment of the tribunal which upheld Alia’s election.
At the tribunal, Uba among other things alleged that Alia’s deputy, Samuel Ode, presented a fake certificate to the Independent National Electoral Commission contrary to Section 182(1)(j) of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended).
He also stated that Alia’s name was submitted less than 180 days before the election date, and Ode was also not submitted to INEC after the party conducted a further re-run primary election.
A three-member panel of the tribunal, headed by Justice Ibrahim Karaye, dismissed the petition on the ground that it was a pre-election matter and was statute-barred.
On Monday, the appeal court’s three-member panel led by Justice Onyekachi Aja Otisi held that the Uba failed to prove beyond reasonable doubt the allegations of forgery against Ode.
Details shortly…
