Benue: Alia asks court to dismiss Ortom’s appeal

Benue State Governor, Hyacinth Alia, has asked the Makurdi division of the Court of Appeal to dismiss the appeal filed by former governor of the state, Samuel Ortom, challenging the decision of the High Court of Benue State which dismissed his case.

The case borders on the constitution of the Income and Expenditures Commission of Inquiry set up by Gov Alia to investigate the income and expenditures of Benue State from 29th May 2015 to 28th May 2023.

When the matter came up on Thursday for hearing, Matthew Burkaa for the 1st and 2nd respondents argued his preliminary objection which challenged the competence of the appeal on the ground that none of the issues argued in Ortom’s brief were tied to any ground of the appeal.

On the substantive appeal, Burkaa adopted his brief and submitted that the lower court was right to have dismissed Ortom’s case because the case was dead on arrival, having been filed outside the period stipulated by the High Court Rules of Benue State and the Public Officers Protection Law of Benue State.

Other respondents’ counsels, including, E. N. Agoh Esq, for the 3rd Respondent, Ishaka Dikko, SAN for the 4th – 6th Respondents, Mohammed Ndarani SAN for the 7th – 9th respondents, R. O. Adakole, Esq., for the 10th and 11th respondents and Magaji Mato Ibrahim, SAN, for the 12th and 13th respondents, all adopted their respective briefs of argument and reiterated that Ortom’s case was void ab initio and no clinical efforts could suffice to resuscitate and breath life into the case.

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Earlier, Samuel Ortom through his counsel, Oba Maduabuchi, SAN, adopted his briefs in the appeal and argued that the Benue State High Court, presided by Hon. Justice T. T. Asua was wrong to have dismissed Ortom’s case while ruling on Ortom’s application for extension of time to regularise his suit challenging the constitution of a commission of inquiry to investigate his tenure as governor of Benue State.

Maduabuchi SAN added that the Public Officers protection law of Benue State relied upon by the lower court to dismiss Ortom’s case was not applicable to cases of judicial review such as the case filed by Samuel Ortom.

At the close of hearing, the panel of three justices of the Court of Appeal, led by Biobele Abraham Georgewill, JCA, reserved judgment in the appeal to a date to be communicated to the parties.