The Court of Appeal in Abuja affirmed Hyacinth Alia’s election as the governor of Benue State on Monday.
Titus Uba, the Peoples Democratic Party candidate in the March 18 governorship election, had appealed the tribunal’s decision upholding Alia’s victory.
Uba’s allegations at the tribunal included claims that Alia’s deputy, Samuel Ode, presented a forged certificate to INEC, violating Section 182(1)(j) of the 1999 Constitution. Uba also argued that Alia’s name was submitted less than 180 days before the election, and Ode wasn’t submitted to INEC after a re-run primary election.
The tribunal, led by Justice Ibrahim Karaye, dismissed Uba’s petition, deeming it a pre-election matter and statute-barred.
In the Monday ruling, the three-member panel of the Court of Appeal, headed by Justice Onyekachi Aja Otisi, held that Uba failed to prove the forgery allegations against Ode beyond a reasonable doubt.
