Appeal court affirms Hyacinth Alia as Benue governor

The court of appeal in Abuja has affirmed the election of Hyacinth Alia as governor of Benue state.

Alia was declared winner of the March 18 governorship election by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

The Catholic priest polled 473,933 votes.

However, Titus Uba, candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Benue, filed a petition challenging Alia’s victory.

In September, the governorship tribunal affirmed Alia’s election.

Ibrahim Karaye, chairman of the three-member tribunal panel, said they lacked jurisdiction to hear the petition because it is a pre-election matter.

Karaye said Uba ought to have prosecuted the forgery allegation against Sam Ode, Benue deputy governor, at the high court.

Uba and the PDP then appealed the ruling of the tribunal.

Ruling on the appeal on Monday, the court’s three-member panel led by Onyekachi Aja Otisi, held that Uba failed to prove allegations of forgery against Ode beyond reasonable doubt.