Benue State Governor, Hyacinth Alia, has distanced himself from the protest held against the state’s Chief Judge, Justice Maurice Ikpembese, for relocating the Benue Local Government Election Petitions Tribunal from Benue to Abuja.

Hundreds of demonstrators from Benue State took to the streets of Abuja on Monday, for a peaceful protest from the National Assembly to the Supreme Court to express their outrage over the Benue CJ’s decision.

Justice Ikpembese had on March 5 ordered the relocation of the Benue Local Government Election Petitions Tribunal from Benue to Abuja, citing safety concerns.

The tribunal is currently handling disputes arising from the Benue State Local Government elections conducted on October 5, 2024.

Reports indicate that 93 petitioners, including aggrieved candidates from both the All Progressives Congress and the Peoples Democratic Party, have filed cases at the tribunal since October 17, 2024.

The Benue State Government, through the Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice and Public Order, Mr. Fidelis Mnyim, had questioned the CJ’s unilateral decision, noting that neither the governor nor his office had been formally notified.

But in an interview with The PUNCH on Monday, Governor Alia’s Chief Press Secretary, Kula Tersoo, distanced his principal from the protest against the CJ.

Tersoo said, “How can the government sponsor a protest when people listen to the news and read papers and they are enlightened and might have seen how court cases turned political?

“The government stands to gain nothing in sponsoring a protest; rather it is focused on channeling resources to infrastructural development in the state.

“It’s unfortunate that the state Chief Judge has to go public, that he selected tough people to sit on election petition tribunal.”

Also speaking with The PUNCH, the Chairman of the Nigerian Bar Association, Makurdi branch, Terna Yaji, lamented how the tribunal case had been politicised.

Yaji decried the conflicting orders by the Federal High Court sitting in Makurdi and the High Court in Abuja stating that such orders had created uncertainty.

“The Federal High Court in Makurdi and High Court in Abuja judicial division are giving conflicting orders, and in this cas,e there is uncertainty. But the latest order should take pre-eminence.

“It is unfortunate that the court case has become a political case and this is what we have been saying that we should not allow politicians to interfere in court cases.”

The political tension comes in the wake of an earlier attempt by the Benue State Government to remove the CJ over allegations of misconduct and corruption.

The Benue State House of Assembly, acting on a petition from Governor Alia, had recommended Justice Ikpembese’s removal, a move that was resisted by the National Judicial Council and the NBA.

On Monday, scores of placard-bearing protesters, condemned the CJ’s action, relocating the tribunal from Benue to the NBA secretariat in Abuja.

Addressing journalists during the protest, the convener of the group, Igwe Ude-Umanta, faulted the Benue CJ for unilaterally granting a waiver to petitioners of the Local Government Election Tribunal, violating the constitutional requirement for a security deposit.

Ude-Umanta also blamed Justice M.M. Adamu of the FCT High Court 34 for issuing an order compelling the tribunal to sit in Abuja, despite a previous court order restraining the tribunal from sitting outside Benue State.

The protesters called on the Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Kudirat Kekere-Ekun, to intervene urgently in the crisis and expunge corrupt judges from the Nigerian judiciary.

They also urged President Bola Tinubu to take immediate action to address the crisis and ensure that justice is served.

“Today, we are here as concerned Nigerians who believe in the rule of law. Our democracy is in clear danger, and the Honourable Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Kudirat Kekere-Ekun, must save it.

“We are here today to submit a petition against Justice Maurice Ikpembese and Justice M. M. Adamu, who, by their actions, have converted the title of Justice to injustice. It behooves the Chief Justice of Nigeria to expunge corrupt judges from the judiciary to restore its integrity.

“We also call on President Bola Tinubu not to fold his arm and watch the judiciary go down. The Benue situation is the worst at the moment because the petitioners did not even participate in any of the process of the election.”

Recall that the Chief Judge of Benue State, Justice Maurice Ikpembese, had earlier ordered the relocation of the tribunal from Makurdi to Nigeria Bar Association House, Abuja due to insecurity.

But the sitting of the panel, which should have started in Abuja on March 10, was put on hold due to a restraining order by a Federal High Court sitting in Makurdi.

The court directed that the election petition tribunal should hold in Benue State, against Justice Ikpembese’s ruling.

However, the ruling All Progressives Congress approached the FCT High Court in Abuja with a prayer that the panel be relocated to Abuja as earlier ordered by the Benue Chief Judge.

Granting the prayer on Friday, Justice Adamu directed the tribunal to continue to conduct its sitting at the NBA House in Abuja.

The court also restrained the tribunal from sitting in Benue State.