The Supreme Court has affirmed the election of Benue State Governor, Hyacinth Alia
A five-man panel of Justices of the Apex Court dismissed an appeal filed by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and its candidate, Titus Uba, to challenge the outcome of the election held in the state on March 18.
The panel led by Justice Inyang Okoro on Monday 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.
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 March 18 governorship election winner.
The Court of Appeal had earlier said it lacked the jurisdiction to hear the petition because it was a pre-election matter.
The court submitted 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 succeeded Samuel Ortom of the PDP who was governor of the state for eight years
