The Election Petitions Tribunal in sitting in Makurdi, Benue State has upheld the victory of Senator Gabriel Suswam in the Benue North-East senatorial district election.
Justice A. O. Odugu, leading a three-man panel, gave the ruling on Tuesday.
The petition filed by the former chairman of the Benue Internal Revenue Service, Mimi Orubibi, of the All Progressives Congress (APC) was dismissed for non-compliance to section 138 of the Electoral Act, in the formulation of issue one, Igbere TV reports.
The tribunal also dismissed the petition for Orubibi’s failure to prove allegations of criminality in the electoral process – vote rigging and buying, polling unit by polling unit – in the formulation of issue two.
Justice Odugu awarded the cost of N100,000 against the petitioner and upheld the victory of Senator Suswam who was the candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
Orubibi’s counsel, Frank Noomor, disagreed with the judge on the interpretation of Section 138 of the Electoral Act, saying his client would appeal the judgement.
