‘Redeem Yourself Over Benue LP Guber Crisis’, Youth Group Tells Supreme Court

A group, under the aegis of Benue Youth Vanguard, has charged the county’s Supreme Court to end the “rape” of justice at the lower and appeal courts over the crisis that trailed the governorship primary of Labour Party in the state.

The group said both the Makurdi high court and appellate court failed the integrity test by their inability to ensure justice in matters that many were optimistic would be a straight win for Engr. Ben Akaaka.

But the two courts went ahead to give Mr. Herman Hembe, who was not apparently qualified to vie for the primary of the party, having earlier participated in the All Progressives Congress (APC) exercise a clean bill.

Engr. Akaaka had challenged the emergence of Mr. Hembe, the National Assembly member representing Vandeikya/Konshisha constituency as the gubernatorial candidate of the LP in the state in the coming 2023 elections.

He had approached the court seeking his recognition as the duly elected candidate and the disqualification of Mr. Hembe for being invalidly elected.

He cited the results of APC’s governorship primary elections which had Hembe’s name, indicating that he had participated in that election; and sought that INEC be ordered to replace Hembe’s name with his, being the first runner-up in the primary election Hembe won.

However, in a ruling, the Makurdi high court ruled that Hembe’s name was erroneously printed in the APC primary elections results. The Court of Appeal sitting in Makurdi also upheld the decision of the lower court on the matter.

However, the youth group in a statement by its chairman and secretary, Mr.Tsetim Timber and Harry Nungwa said the decisions of both courts were suspicious and didn’t reflect the true situation on ground.

The statement which said Akaaka should head to the Supreme court also said the courts which are supposed to be the unbiased umpires have turned justice on its head.

The statement urged the Supreme court that if confronted with the issue, the Court should redeem the situation and upheld the integrity of the judicial arm by declaring Akaaka the candidate of the party in the coming governorship election in the state.

It said Akaaka by his past antecedent and wealth of experience, is a better place to address the many challenges plaguing the state and steer it on the path of development and growth.