February 21, (THEWILL) – A group under the aegis of the Benue Youth Vanguard has challenged the Supreme Court to end what it referred to as “rape” of justice at the lower and appellate courts over the crisis that trailed the governorship primary of the Labour Party in the state.
The group said both the Makurdi High Court and appellate court failed the integrity test by their inability to ensure justice in a matter that many were optimistic would be a straight win for Engr. Ben Akaaka.
“But the two courts went ahead to give Mr. Herman Hembe, who was not apparently qualified to vie for the primary of the party, having earlier participated in the All Progressives Congress (APC) exercise, a clean bill,” it said.
Engr. Akaaka had challenged the emergence of Hembe, the National Assembly member representing Vandeikya/Konshisha constituency, as the gubernatorial candidate of the LP in the state.
He had approached the court seeking his recognition as the duly elected candidate and the disqualification of Mr. Hembe for being invalidly elected.
The Chairman and secretary of the group, Mr Tsetim Timbee and Harry Nungwa, in a statement, cited the results of the APC’s governorship primary election, which had Hembe’s name, indicating that he had participated in that election, and sought that INEC be ordered to replace Hembe’s name with that of Akaaka, being the first runner.
However, in a ruling, the Makurdi High Court ruled that Hembe’s name was erroneously printed in the APC primary elections results.
The Court of Appeal sitting in Makurdi also upheld the decision of the lower court on the matter.
The group said the decisions of both courts were suspicious and did not reflect the true situation on ground.
The statement, which advised Engr Akaaka to head to the Supreme Court, pointed out that the courts, which are supposed to be unbiased umpires, have turned justice on its head.
The statement urged the Supreme Court that if confronted with the issue, the Court should redeem the situation and uphold the integrity of the judicial arm by declaring Akaaka as the governorship candidate of the party for the forthcoming governorship election in the state.
It said Akaaka, by his past antecedent and wealth of experience, is better placed to address the many challenges plaguing the state and steer it on the path of development and growth.
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