Written by Ben Atonko & Toryila Kajo in Makurdi Sunday, 31 July 2011 00:00

The Benue State Governorship Election Petition Tribunal last Monday fled Makurdi citing security concerns. This is not the first time. Former head of the panel had also run away with complaint of threat to her life. Now, it is not certain whether the tribunal will resume its sitting in Makurdi this week even as it is fast running out of time.

Section 285 (2) of the 1999 constitution states: “There shall be established in each state of the federation one or more election tribunals to be known as the Governorship and Legislative Houses Election Tribunals which shall, to the exclusion of any court or tribunal have original jurisdiction to hear and determine petitions as to whether any person has validly been elected to the office, ” This constitutional provision is likely to be violated in Benue State because of vested interests.

How it started

After the April 2011 general elections, the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) alleged that the elections were marred by different kinds of malpractices. It took its grievances to the legally constituted body known as the Benue State Election Petition Tribunal.

In Benue State, there are three panels: the Governorship Election Petition Tribunal, the National Assembly Election Petition Tribunal and the House of Assembly Election Petition Tribunal. While the Governorship Election Petition Tribunal handles only the governorship election petitions, the National and House of Assembly Petition Tribunals handle the Senatorial, House of Representatives and the House of Assembly petitions. Altogether, there are 38 petitions before the panels in Benue State.

The Governorship Election Petitions Tribunal is the one with the biggest trouble. It has two petitions before it: one filed by Prof Steven Ugba of Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) against Governor Gabriel Suswam of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), and another filed by Prof Daniel Saror of All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP) against Suswam.

Trouble started with the first chairman of the tribunal, Justice Daisy Okocha. It was said that she parked her car and some persons quietly went behind her and deflated the four tyres. She packed her luggage and left.

Then Justice Munir Ladan was sent to succeed her. Ladan started on a bright note. He commenced rulings. He delivered the first ruling in the application by Suswam that Ugba’s petition be dismissed for lack of merit. The motion was taken and the tribunal dismissed the motion -- the petition was sustained.

The second motion was filed by Ugba who contended that Suswam’s reply to his petition was out of time, for which reason the tribunal should hold that Suswam had no defence. The tribunal dismissed the application. This is the point where things turned knotty for Ladan.

The tribunal chairman announced last Monday in the open court that they were under threat of death, and that they were going to Abuja to report to the President of the Court of Appeal (PCA), Justice Ayo Salami. Before this, the two governorship petitions were adjourned till 3rd (Saror’s) and 4th (Ugba’s) August.

The issue hanging now is whether the tribunal will come back to sit in Makurdi or relocate to somewhere else.


Benue people’s role

A PDP stalwart in Benue State who once represented the state in the Revenue Mobilisation, Allocation and Fiscal Commission, Chief Abu King Shuluwa exonerated the Benue people from blame, saying the tribunal is only interested in giving the Benue people a bad name.

He described the tribunal as being either incompetent to handle the petitions or it has compromised its competence. “If I’m made chairman of this tribunal, I’ll sit under a tree and pass my judgment and heavens will not fall. Cases of armed robbery and murder which carry death penalty have been disposed here, yet nothing happened,” he said. He wondered where the threat would have come from because in the last sitting, all roads leading to the court were cordoned off and only those who had business in the court’s proceedings were allowed in.

According to Shuluwa, cases of judges receiving threat text messages are not new, so the judges should bend down and work, pointing at the Niger Delta as a place where bombs were constantly detonated but judicial workers still did their work.

Citing the tribunal’s failure to carry on with its work, Shuluwa said this is one of the examples of Nigeria’s failure to implement constitutional provisions. He maintained that Benue people want to know the truth of what happened in the general elections for the sake of prosperity and democracy.

Minister of communications during the Shehu Shagari-led administration, Chief Isaac Shaahu who said election rigging is at the centre of all the crises maintained that his people value democratic values and so will not brook election rigging.

He said rigging set in when his generation quit the scene for the younger people. Shaahu believes that the April elections were massively rigged because, “If you go round Benue State, you will see the sign of the broom everywhere and you hear small children, three years, four years chanting Change, Change; why did we want a change? Because we were tired of the government and wanted a new democratic government. That is why you find the broom everywhere.”

He said he had asked why judges are raising alarm but nobody has given him the answer. He accused Suswam of being overbearing. He charged the judges to surround themselves with security men and pass their judgment, saying Benue people are peace-loving and will not deliberately do anything that will negatively impact on the tribunal.

He said Saror disappointed the people in 2007 when he abruptly dropped his case against Suswam. Suswam was similarly dragged before the tribunal in 2007 but the petitioner withdrew the case. Saror had repeatedly told his party supporters that it was the Tor Tiv, Dr Alfred Akawe Torkula that prevailed upon him to withdraw his petition. The same Saror told the court that he lacked the needed funds to prosecute the case.

The Benue State Commissioner for Information, Mr Conrad Wergba said government has not received any formal complaint from the tribunal. According to him, government has provided adequate security for the judges both in their places of rest and work, and that security is so tight that those who have no business in the court have difficulty getting there.

He accused the ACN of being behind the crisis. He said government has called on security agencies to investigate the claims, adding that government is prepared to redouble efforts to give the tribunal maximum security.

Should the panel fail to deliver judgment within the expected time, he concluded, Suswam will remain in power because it is no fault of his.

Former Special Assistant to Governor Suswam on Public Utility, Mr Gaddafi Asemanya told our reporter that the high wire politics and tension generated over the general elections is as a result of idleness on the part of the young persons and the opposition’s do-or-die syndrome. He charged parents to guard their children. He called on youths to take advantage of the numerous employment opportunities presented by the Suswam government to get themselves employed and eschew bitterness.

Barrister Andrew Wombo, a Makurdi-based private legal practitioner maintained that if the allegation by the tribunal is true, it cannot have come from ACN because as circumstances clearly show, the ACN has no any other place to lodge its complaints other than before the tribunal. He expressed, “Common sense will suggest that if you have a problem, you take it to somebody for arbitration, there is no reason you make it impossible for the arbitrator to listen your complaint.”

He said lawyers have given their clients hope that justice will be done and these lawyers have not had cause to complain because they have prepared their cases, evidence are set and they are ready to prosecute their petitions. According to Wombo, opposition has no reason to cause delays. He said the lawyers are not unconscious of the fact that the time of hearing the petitions is limited.

He acknowledged that lawyers have issues with the tribunal’s registry. “The registry has been so porous,” he stressed. He said wherever the tribunal decides to sit, it would not matter so far as justice will be done.

He said it is not only the judges that are being threatened. He showed our reporter a text message sent to his cellular phone on 1st June 2011 from an unknown phone number (+234 706 260 0546). It tersely read: “Barr. You are going to face an imminent danger.”

A civil servant in the employ of the Benue State University who did not want his name here said any time judges sit and the facts of the election crisis are presented to them, they, government officials become apprehensive.

According to the civil servant, this case is unique and because of that, the governor is not at ease. He stated, “The governor finds it difficult to stay [in Benue State] because he is not with the people. Right now as we speak, he is nowhere to be found in this state. Formerly, people’s will would be subverted and nothing would happen. But now, it is no more, Things have become so bad. The Tor Tiv has equally failed to calm frayed nerves, ”


The trouble with the registry

When Sunday Trust visited the tribunal’s venue last week, lawyers were there making complaints. Mainly, they complained about non-service of processes filed by parties. Already, the secretary and some clerks in the registry have been changed. Erstwhile secretary, Mr Abdullahi Bello has been replaced by Mr Hassan Suleiman Amida. It is said that things have been so untidy that even files or some documents in the files are often misplaced.



‘We will be the losers’

Benue State Chairman of ACN, Comrade Abba Yaro has already issued a statement saying his party has no hand in the shenanigans. The Deputy Director General of Prof Steve Ugba Campaign Organisation, Mr Onov Tyuulugh also explained that ACN will never do anything injurious to the tribunal members. “We are the ones seeking justice so we are more interested in providing very conducive atmosphere for the tribunal to hear our case. We will be the loser if the tribunal does not listen to this petition so we have no reason whatsoever to disturb the tribunal’s sitting. PDP will be the beneficiary if after 180 days this tribunal is unable to deliver judgment and that is one of the angles they are working at. They are seeking all dimensions and possibilities trying to elongate the tenure of the tribunal so it does not deliver judgment in 180 days and once judgment is not delivered in 180 days, the petition abates.



Judges crying wolf

The Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), Mr Alaribe Ejike noted that the judges are crying wolf. According him, the Benue State Police Command has always deployed all relevant men and equipment at its disposal to protect the judges. He said even on their way to work, the police are always by their side stressing that it is not just junior men but officers are deployed to guard the judges. He acknowledged that the tribunal members had lodged a complaint but police authorities had assured them of adequate security.

Obviously, actions by some persons may have given the panel members cause to worry. On the eve of the last sitting, the governor’s elder brother, Mr Terkura Suswam had placed announcement on the local radio, repeatedly calling on local council chairmen to mobilise party supporters to come to court and match ACN supporters who always turn out in huge numbers. The Commissioner for Information acknowledged this. He however maintained that the governor’s brother’s action was right because he is not holding any official position in government.

Efforts to hear from the Tor Tiv failed. When our reporter visited his palace, he was simply turned back at the entrance with the explanation that he was not present. Many have pointed accusing finger at the Tor Tiv saying he has been supporting the governor in the governor’s undemocratic moves to muzzle the opposition.

Now, Benue people are yet to unravel the puzzle: who is behind the threat on the tribunal? They are also anxiously waiting to know where the tribunal will sit in the next three days.


Emergence by crooked means

Suswam’s controversial emergence as governor in 2007 started at Aper Aku township stadium Makurdi at PDP primaries when he could not secure the mandatory majority votes to defeat 18 others. Following this development, the then governor, now Minority Leader in the Senate, George Akume lobbied his deputy, Prince Ogiri Ajene who was also in the race along side the then Deputy Speaker of Benue State House of Assembly, Mr. Ragh Igbago who each donated their votes that made up Suswam’s shortfall. Suswam was eventually declared PDP flagbearer.

After the election, his main challenger then, Saror of the ANPP dragged him to the election petition citing irregularities in the polls. Midway, Saror dropped the case giving Suswam his respite.

This time, the ACN has vowed never to look back and the battle keeps getting hot and interesting. Where this will take Benue People to is what nobody can say now

Interesting.

Over/under on how long Suswam stays in office? I put it at 1 year

my own bi say i will come and scatter the house wey i dey build for makurdi, carry ma mama and papa commot, change ma tiv name to something else. ;d ;d ;d ;d ;d