Akume, Akaagerger Lose Senate Seats

John Akpodovhan, Donald Kanum, Makurdi - 26.01.2006

Supporters of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and loyalists of former Governor George Akume of Benue State and Senator Joseph Akaagerger representing Benue North West and Benue North East Senatorial Districts wore long faces on Friday when the Benue State Elections Petitions Tribunal nullified and declared their seats vacant.

The tribunal, in different rulings on Friday, ordered fresh elections to be conducted within 60 days to fill the seats of the senators.

Delivering judgment on the election petition filed by Dr. Simon Lim of the Action Congress (AC) against the election of Akume, Justice P.C. Ikpeama said that the tribunal arrived at its decision because the election was full of flaws.

Ikpeama said the election did not comply substantially with the Electoral Act 2006. He noted that after examining the voters’ registers from five out of the seven local government areas that make up the district, as tendered by the petitioner, there was massive allocation of votes in most wards, registers were not ticked and election materials were diverted to individual homes for thumb printing.

The tribunal declared that it discountenanced the voter registers tendered by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) on subpoena by the respondent on the grounds that the commission could have done so when the petitioner applied, but chose to withhold other registers for inexplicable reasons.

According to the judge, he observed that witnessesfor the respondent contradicted themselves. He said in one instance, the witnesses claimed that election was free and fair and in another they admitted that it was marred by widespread irregularities.

He said the witnesses were hired to lie and deceive the tribunal. On INEC, Ikpeama remarked that a close examination of voters’ registers tendered by the petitioner revealed that there were irregularities in them, with some having one, others two and the remaining had no tickings to indicate that no voting took place in such areas.

The tribunal declared that it had resolved to accept the five markings of the voter registers as the only authentic way of proving that election took place.

The  tribunal also said it nullified Akume’s election because the oath of neutrality for INEC staff were administered after the election and that agents of PDP connived with INEC staff to snatch and divert electoral materials and embarked on illegal thumb printing in private homes.

All the defence witnesses who tendered evidence for Akume, the tribunal noted, were unreliable since they contradicted themselves and did not participate in the election as polling agents.

In the second ruling read by Justice Bilkisu Aliyu, the tribunal declared that it found the evidence adduced by the petitioners to be more credible than those of the respondents.

It nullified the election on the grounds of irregular ticking of the voter registers and the late administration of oaths of neutrality of the electoral officials.

Counsel to Prof. David Iornem of the AC and Benjamin Ikyanyon of the All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP), Barrister Andrew Wombo, had prayed the court to hold that Akaagerger was not qualified to contest the said election based on the fact that he was indicted for corruption by the Katsina State Government headed by its former Governor and now President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua for embezzling N2 billion in 1998.

Wombo further said that the election into Benue North East Senatorial District was not valid because of its non compliance with the Electoral Act 2006 and also argued that INEC wrongly returned Akaagerger as winner of the election.

He said he didn’t score the lawful and valid votes cast during the election. Wombo said the elections were characterised by massive fraud, diversion of election materials and non accreditation of voters.

He alleged that thugs hired by the PDP were used to disrupt the electoral process while INEC arbitrarily allocated votes in favour of the first respondent.

In the case brought by Alhaji Usman Abubakar against the election of the President of the Senate, Senator David Mark, for Benue South Senatorial District, the tribunal ruled that the adoption of final address would come up on February 2.

Before it adjourned on Friday, the tribunal listened to the addresses of the counsel to the two parties.