Benue: Ortom, Alia Trade Words Over 23 Seized Vehicles

Benue State Governor, Rev. Fr. Hyacinth Alia, and his predecessor, Samuel Ortom, have renewed hostilities over 23 seized vehicles which the former governor said legitimately belonged to him.

In an interview with Arise Television, Ortom alleged that Governor Alia had seized 23 vehicles allocated to him after leaving office.

Ortom explained that he challenged Governor Alia’s action in court and secured a judgment ordering the government to return the vehicles and pay ₦5 million in damages.

The former governor further claimed that Alia did not obey the judgment as the vehicles are yet to be returned to him despite the court ruling.

Ortom accused Alia’s administration of allegedly intimidating, witch-hunting and silencing his political opponents.

*Ortom Ran Benue Aground – Alia*

But reacting to Ortom’s interview on _Arise Television_ on Wednesday, Governor Alia’s Chief Press Secretary, Tersoo Kula, claimed the 23 cars belonged to the Benue State Government and not to the former governor.

Alia explained further that former governor Ortom hid the 23 cars in a mechanic workshop somewhere in Makurdi.

According to the governor, “What did he need the 23 cars for? Ortom is not the first governor of Benue State. He is not the first governor in Nigeria. How many governors who knew they had come to develop the state live with that kind of noble cars? In any case, these cars were not taken to his house as something that was genuinely given to you. They were hidden in a mechanic workshop.

“It has opened a vista to understand really what Ortom entrenched in Benue State as the governor for eight years. This state was practically run aground,” Alia stated.

Witch-Hunt Began Immediately After Alia Assumed Office – Ortom*

Meanwhile, responding to Alia’s Chief Press Secretary, Tersoo Kula’s interview, Ortom said the witch-hunt began almost immediately after Governor Alia assumed office in 2023.

Ortom, in a statement signed by his media aide, Terver Akase, said under the guise of recovering government assets, the Assets Recovery Committee stormed a privately-owned automobile workshop in Makurdi and carted away vehicles, including vehicles lawfully allocated to Ortom and several former political office holders as part of their entitlements approved by the Benue State Executive Council.

Ortom further averred that, “Among the vehicles taken away were those owned by individuals who had not served in the Ortom administration. The operation was carried out with fanfare, designed not to recover assets but to publicly humiliate political opponents.”

“Chief Ortom did what every law-abiding citizen should do. Rather than resort to self-help or political propaganda, he approached the court for justice,” he said.

He added that the Benue State High Court, in a judgment delivered on October 6, 2025, held that the Assets Recovery Committee acted unlawfully.

The former Governor added, “Justice Theresa Igoche ordered Governor Alia’s Assets Recovery Committee to immediately return all the vehicles seized from Chief Ortom and other former political office holders. The court further awarded N5 million in damages against the defendants for their unlawful actions.”

“That judgment remains valid. Yet, a year after the judgment, Governor Alia’s administration has deliberately refused to comply with the court order.

“The continued refusal to return the vehicles belonging to Chief Ortom and other members of the previous administration, despite a clear court order, is perhaps the strongest evidence that Governor Alia’s campaign against his predecessor has never been driven by law but by political malice,” Ortom said.