Suswam, Ugbah Suit: Tribunal Discovers ‘Stolen’ Exhibits with ACN

24 Jan 2012

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Governor Gabriel Suswam of Benue

A mild drama occurred Monday when the Benue State Election Petitions Tribunal sitting in Makurdi allegedly discovered that its exhibits, which had disappeared for weeks, were in the possession of the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), the petitioner in the case before the tribunal.

Crucial exhibits tendered before the tribunal by the ACN and its governorship candidate, Prof. Steve Ugbah, in the April 26, 2011 governorship election, had disappeared from the strong room of the tribunal in controversial circumstances as both the tribunal members and the registry staff had no knowledge of the movement of the documents.

Counsel to the ACN, Rotimi Akeredolu (SAN), who led Simon Orkuma, and Joe Abaagu, when the case came up Monday, announced to the disbelief of the tribunal that the ACN legal team were in possession of the exhibits.

Akeredolu, who tendered apology to the tribunal, explained that although the legal team was in possession of the documents, he could not say how they were retrieved from the tribunal secretary.

Responding, Chairman of the Tribunal, Justice Halima Mohammed, directed the counsels to the respondents (PDP, Governor Gabriel Suswam and INEC) to meet with the ACN to examine the exhibits to ascertain whether they were tempered with before it would be accepted back as evidence. The recovered exhibits were documents used in the conduct of the April 26, 2011 general election which were tendered in evidence at the tribunal headed by Justice Munir Ladan before it was dissolved following the ruling of the Appeal Court, which dismissed the ACN petition against the PDP.

However, the Supreme Court which heard the appeal brought by the ACN, had ordered a restoration of the panel’s proceedings, and also ordered the reconstitution of the current one which began sitting late last year. Counsel to Suswam, Damian Dodo (SAN) condemned the action of the ACN, saying documents already tendered were property of the tribunal and were not supposed to be taken away by any party to the case under any circumstance.

Meanwhile, the Court of Appeal in Makurdi has declined jurisdiction in any matter brought before it in which the Benue state chapter of the ACN is a party.

Presiding Judge of the Court, Justice Tsamiyya, who made the order in Makurdi, said the Court had arrived at the decision following series of petitions against it by the ACN in Benue State in which the judges were accused of various acts of corruption and called unprintable names.

Justice Tsamiyya spoke when the appeal brought before it by the ACN House of Representatives candidate for Katsina-Ala, Ukum and Logo Federal Constituency in the April 2011 elections, Hon. Mzenda Iho, came up for hearing.

He said the President of the Court of Appeal would determine how best the cases in which the Benue ACN was a party would be heard.


http://www.thisdaylive.com/articles/suswam-ugbah-suit-tribunal-discovers-stolen-exhibits-with-acn/107773/

Crucial exhibits tendered before the tribunal by the ACN and its governorship candidate, Prof. Steve Ugbah, in the April 26, 2011 governorship election, had disappeared from the strong room of the tribunal in controversial circumstances as both the tribunal members and the registry staff had no knowledge of the movement of the documents.

Counsel to the ACN, Rotimi Akeredolu (SAN), who led Simon Orkuma, and Joe Abaagu, when the case came up Monday, announced to the disbelief of the tribunal that the ACN legal team were in possession of the exhibits.

Akeredolu, who tendered apology to the tribunal, explained that although the legal team was in possession of the documents, he could not say how they were retrieved from the tribunal secretary.

Oti o! ACN rascals aint smiling these days, imagine stealing court exhibits!

Beaf the idiot i tot u r on Exile ?