Benue Guber Primaries: Court Dismisses Suit Against APC, INEC, Alia

A Federal High Court sitting in Makurdi has dismissed the suit filed by the All Progressives Congress (APC) gubernatorial aspirant against the party which is the 1st defendant, the party’s candidate Rev. Fr. Hyacinth Iormem Alia, 2nd defendant, and Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) 3rd defendant for lack of locus standi.

The presiding judge Justice Hassan Dikko who gave the judgement in Makurdi enumerated the prayers of the plaintiff, Prof Terhemba Shija to include an order invalidating and voiding the nomination of 2nd defendant as 1st defendant’s candidate for the 2023 governorship election in Benue State.

According to him, the plaintiff is also praying for an order directing the 3rd defendant to exclude the 2nd defendant from being the candidate of the 1st defendant for the governorship election of Benue State and barring the 1st defendant from fielding any candidate at all for the position of governor of Benue State in the said election.

“An order compelling the first defendant to refund to the plaintiff the sum of N50 million being the expression of interest and nomination fee paid to it by the plaintiff for participation in the 1st defendant’s gubernatorial primary election that the 1st defendant failed to conduct among others,” he said.