The High Court of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) has directed the Benue State Local Government Election Petitions Tribunal to convene in Abuja to address and resolve all petitions stemming from the local government elections held on October 5, 2024.
Naijaonpoint understands that this decision was prompted by security issues in Benue State.
The Local Government Appeal Tribunal has been authorized to continue its proceedings at the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) House in Abuja concerning the contested election.
Justice M. M. Adamu issued this directive while ruling on an ex-parte application submitted by a faction of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Benue State.
Attorney Anderson Asemota presented the application on behalf of the applicants, which include Augustine Agada (Chairman), Daniel Ihonmu (Publicity Secretary), and the APC.
The ex-parte application also included other respondents such as the Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), the Attorney General of the Federation (AGF), the NBA President, the Inspector General of Police (IGP), and the Nigeria Police Force (NPF).
In his ruling, Justice Adamu prohibited the Chairmen of the Petition Tribunal in the three zones of Benue from relocating to Makurdi to hear cases related to the elections.
He further prohibited the Appeal Tribunal from transferring its proceedings from Abuja to the capital of Benue State for the purpose of adjudicating any appeals regarding the council elections.
Justice Adamu instructed the Inspector-General of Police and the Nigeria Police to ensure security for the tribunal during its sessions in Abuja.
An enrolled order by the court obtained by Daily Post read in part: “Upon hearing Anderson U. Asemota, Esq., Counsel for the Claimant/Applicant, on a Motion Ex-parte dated the 11th day of March 2025 and filed on the 12th day of March 2025, supported by a 17-paragraph affidavit praying for the following:
“AN ORDER INTERIM directing, mandating, or compelling the 1st to 11th Defendants to continue conducting sittings and holding proceedings of the Benue State Local Government Election Tribunal and the Benue State Appeals Tribunal at the NBA House, Abuja, for the purpose of hearing and determining appeals or petitions arising from the Local Government elections of Benue State held on the 5th of October 2024, pending the hearing and determination of the Motion on Notice filed contemporaneously with this application.
“AN ORDER OF INTERIM INJUNCTION restraining the 1st to 14th Defendants from relocating the Benue State Local Government Election Tribunal and the Benue State Appeals Tribunal sitting at the NBA House, Abuja, or any other venue within the territorial or geographical delineation of the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, to Benue State, for the purpose of hearing and determining appeals or petitions arising from the Local Government elections of Benue State held on the 5th of October 2024, pending the hearing and determination of the Motion on Notice filed contemporaneously with this application.
“AN ORDER OF THIS HONOURABLE COURT directing or mandating the 16th to 17th Defendants, whether directly by themselves or indirectly through their officers, agents, privies, representatives, attorneys, or any persons acting under their instructions or control, to provide security cover to the 1st–11th Defendants aimed at facilitating the sitting of the Benue State Local Government Election Petition Tribunal and the Benue State Appeal Tribunal within the geographical territory of the FCT, pending the hearing and determination of the Motion on Notice filed contemporaneously with this application.
“And for such order or orders that this court may deem fit to make in the circumstances.”
‘They Cannot Return To Egypt’
Reacting to the court’s decision, Asemota said: “The order we got, basically, is to say that the tribunal has the power to continue holding its proceedings here in Abuja and that the court has directed that they should go ahead to conduct their proceedings here.
“The court also directed that there should be no relocation because the time left for this is less than 20 days. Moreover, there is serious insecurity back where they are coming from.
“So they cannot go back to ‘Egypt’ (Benue) because if they return to Egypt (Benue), what we are saying is that if they return, the proceedings cannot be concluded.
“And the constitutionally guaranteed rights of the petitioners, those who have taken their petitions to the tribunal, would have been infringed upon completely.
“And that’s a right guaranteed by the Constitution. So the tribunal, the judges, the members of the panel cannot hold their proceedings outside Abuja.
“The petitioners, as a people, have their rights, and their right is guaranteed by Section 36 of the Constitution. If you go to the polls and you are not satisfied, it’s part of democracy. And that’s the essence of the theory of the rule of law, propounded by Professor A.V. Dicey.
“The court has come to galvanize and to electroplate the provisions of the Constitution—to say that the procedure of the tribunal is time-bound. It’s not like other cases where you have forever to conduct proceedings.
“They have 180 days. And it is taking into account these 180 days that the court decided to say the tribunal has power and should go ahead to conduct its proceedings here in Abuja and conclude within the time allowed.
“By the 14th of next month or so, the 180 days would have expired completely. So that is the purpose of the order my Lord made—to try to salvage the situation.
“To ensure that none of the petitioners is denied his or her rights as guaranteed by the Constitution. In simple terms, that is what the matter is all about.”