…Tells NJC to avoid playing to the gallery
Prominent All Progressives Congress (APC) chieftain in Benue State, Comrade Daniel Onjeh, has condemned the directive issued on 4th March 2025, by the Chief Judge of Benue State, Hon. Justice Maurice Ahemba Ikpambese, which relocated all Local Government Election Petition Tribunals and the Appeal Tribunal from Benue to the NBA House, Abuja.
Onjeh described the move as “an aberration that raises serious legal and ethical questions.”
Onjeh, who was the APC 2023 Senatorial Candidate for Benue South, stated that the directive, which was purportedly based on security concerns and an ongoing judiciary staff strike, is yet another indication that the judicial crisis in Benue State is a direct consequence of the larger political power struggle that has engulfed the state since the inception of Rev. Fr. Hyacinth Iormem Alia’s administration on 29th May 2023.
“The legal maneuvering we are witnessing in Benue State is not about justice but about political power and the control of state resources,” Onjeh declared.
“The same forces that sought to subvert Governor Alia’s administration from the onset have now turned to the judiciary as their latest weapon to achieve what they failed to accomplish politically.”
Onjeh, who is also former Chairman, Governing Board of the Projects Development Institute (PRODA), Enugu, noted that Governor Alia has faced an unprecedented level of opposition from within his own party, with a faction of disgruntled APC leaders attempting to impose their will on the state.
Their efforts to install their preferred Speaker of the Benue State House of Assembly were thwarted, and their subsequent attempts to manipulate the National Assembly into blocking federal allocations to Benue’s local governments also failed. Now, he argues, they have resorted to using the state judiciary to regain lost political control.
According to Onjeh, Justice Ikpambese’s directive to relocate the Tribunal’s sittings to Abuja raises significant legal concerns.
He opined that the Chief Judge lacks the powers to unilaterally shift the venue of the Tribunal, adding that the Benue State Election Laws 2007 (as amended), stipulates that the venue for the Tribunals can only be changed if all the parties to the petition consent to it. But in this case, the Chief Judge has neither sought nor secured the consent of the respondents to relocate the venue.
The former President of the National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) further argued that the Chief Judge’s actions directly contradict previous rulings he issued in similar circumstances.
“Only a few months ago, in December 2024, His Lordship Justice Ikpambese rejected an application to relocate the Benue North East Election Petition Tribunal from Adikpo to Makurdi, on the ground that the applicant did not secure the consent of all the parties involved, despite security concerns raised by the respondents,” Onjeh recalled.
“The learned Chief Judge further dismissed the claims of insecurity in Adikpo, noting that the courts in Adikpo were still sitting at the time.”
“Yet today, he unilaterally shifts the Local Government Election Petition Tribunals to Abuja without consulting the parties involved or even the courtesy of notifying the Chief Security Officer of the state, Governor Alia. Thus, with due respect, I humbly wish to ask His Lordship, Justice Ikpambese, how many state governments are in Benue State, and which one is he loyal to? This reeks of inconsistency and bias. With due respect to His Lordship, he is fully aware that he needed the consent of the respondents before relocating the venue, but deliberately refused to do so.”
Onjeh maintained that both the Federal High Court and the Court of Appeal are currently sitting in Benue State, which further invalidates the claim that the state is unsafe for the tribunals. He suggested that if security was truly an issue, the tribunals could have been relocated to one of the many military formations within Makurdi instead of being moved out of the state entirely, a decision that, in his view, undermines the principles of federalism.
“Never, in the chequered history of Nigeria’s democracy since independence in 1960, has a Local Government Election Petition Tribunal been shifted outside its state of jurisdiction. Justice Ikpambese is trying to set a terrible precedent, and he must be stopped immediately,” stated Onjeh, adding that, “Relocating the Benue Local Government Election Petition Tribunal to Abuja is akin to relocating the Presidential Election Petition Tribunal to Ghana, or London. Isn’t that utterly absurd?”
Asking if there’s an ongoing war in Benue State to justify the relocation of the Tribunals, Onjeh noted that not even in a war-torn zone like Maiduguri in the North East has a Local Government Election Petition Tribunal been relocated to Abuja.
“And amidst the heightened insecurity in the South East due to the activities of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) and other pro-Biafra groups; and the incessant attacks of bandits in Zamfara State in the North West, Local Government Election Tribunals from these regions have never been relocated to Abuja,” stated Onjeh.
Furthermore, Onjeh questioned Justice Ikpambese’s choice of Abuja as the new venue for the Tribunals, when it is common knowledge in the Benue State that the forces united against the leadership of Father Alia are hugely concentrated in Abuja, adding that it is another impartial angle to Justice Ikpambese’s move, and a good reason for the respondents to be even more apprehensive.
Onjeh further pointed out that this latest judicial maneuver follows Justice Ikpambese’s controversial decision to grant a waiver on security deposits for petitioners challenging the outcome of the local government elections.
He argued that this amounted to a unilateral amendment of the electoral laws enacted by the Benue State House of Assembly, which clearly stipulate that petitioners must pay a mandatory security deposit before their petitions can be entertained.
“Judges do not make laws; they interpret and apply them,” Onjeh asserted. “By waiving the security deposit requirement without any legislative backing, Justice Ikpambese overstepped his constitutional authority and encroached on the powers of the legislature. Such judicial overreach threatens the principle of separation of powers.”
Onjeh also dismissed the Chief Judge’s justification that he granted the waiver in response to public outcry.
“There is no documented evidence of any petitioners complaining about the security deposit requirement,” he argued.
“This raises concerns about whether the Chief Judge privately met with certain petitioners before issuing the waiver. If true, this would constitute a serious breach of judicial ethics and impartiality.”
He noted that within 48 hours of the waiver being granted, a staggering 295 APC members, primarily from the faction opposed to Governor Alia, rushed to file petitions challenging the outcome of the 2024 local government elections.
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“This was clearly a premeditated plan,” Onjeh declared. “The moment the financial barrier to filing petitions was removed, the floodgates were opened for politically motivated litigation.”
Onjeh raised further concerns about the composition of the Appeal Panel, pointing out that respondents had previously submitted a petition challenging the appointment of the chairman of the Appeal Panel.
Given that the Appeal Tribunal is the final arbiter in these cases, he warned that any indication of bias could have far-reaching consequences.
Previous rulings by judges appointed by Justice Ikpambese, Onjeh noted, have already demonstrated a pattern of decisions that align with the interests of the faction opposed to Governor Alia.
He added that Justice Ikpambese’s appointment of a chairman for the Appeal Panel, who had earlier ruled in favour of the suspended former APC Chairman, Augustine Agada, in a related matter with the one before the tribunal, only adds to suspicions that the judicial process is being manipulated to serve political interests.
“The judiciary in Benue State appears to have taken sides in this political struggle,” Onjeh remarked.
“Whether acting independently or under external influence, it seems the judiciary is being weaponized to achieve a predetermined outcome—one that could see local government control handed over to a faction that has already been rejected by the people.”
The APC stalwart argued that the ultimate prize in this judicial contest is control of Benue’s local government system, particularly in light of the Supreme Court’s recent ruling granting financial autonomy to local governments.
He maintained that those seeking to hijack the system are primarily motivated by the prospect of accessing and controlling local government funds.
“Their desperation is fueled by the financial autonomy of local governments,” Onjeh stated. “The endgame of this judicial intrigue seems clear: the takeover of Benue’s local government system. With the recent Supreme Court ruling granting financial autonomy to local governments, control of the councils has become a lucrative objective.”
Onjeh noted that Governor Alia’s administration has already demonstrated a commitment to financial discipline, with workers receiving their salaries regularly, pensions and gratuities being paid, and infrastructural projects progressing across the state.
He questioned why individuals who previously mismanaged the state’s resources were now so desperate to regain control of the local governments.
“These are the same people who had every opportunity to transform Benue State when they were in power, yet they failed,” Onjeh said.
“Now that we have a governor who is genuinely committed to serving the people, they are doing everything possible to sabotage him.”
The former President of the West Africa Students’ Union (WASU) called on the NJC to urgently intervene to prevent the Benue State judiciary from being used as a political tool.
He argued that the judiciary’s inconsistent rulings and apparent partiality are eroding public confidence in the legal system.
“The Tribunal has already dismissed petitions from opposition parties like the Labour Party and the PDP, yet it continues to entertain petitions from APC members who lack the locus standi to challenge the election results,” Onjeh observed.
“Justice must be blind, not selective. If the judiciary fails to apply the law impartially, it risks setting a dangerous precedent for future elections.”
He warned that if the judiciary proceeds with its apparent plan to overturn the local government election results, it would effectively hand control of the councils to a faction that has been rejected by the people.
Given the financial autonomy of local governments, this would severely weaken Governor Alia’s administration and enable his political adversaries to control a significant portion of the state’s resources.
Onjeh still maintains his ground that the recommendation of the Benue State House of Assembly removing Justice Ikpambese is constitutionally valid and in line with due process as enshrined in the clear provision of Section 292 of the Nigeria Constitution of 1999 (as amended).
“I feel that the governor’s reaction to the recommendation of the House of Assembly, by forwarding same to NJC, is superfluous; perhaps for abundance of caution,” Onjeh stated.
He went further to state, “Where the law had prescribed two different ways that an act can be done in Section 292, 1 (a) & (b), applying one of it suffices and within constitutional framework.”
“The NJC, having received both the petition against Justice Maurice Ikpambese and the recommendation of the Benue House of Assembly for his removal, must act decisively and urgently to uphold the sanctity and integrity of the judiciary,” Onjeh urged.
“The people of Benue State must not allow their democratic choices to be subverted through judicial manipulation. The stakes are too high to ignore.”