The Court of Appeal in Abuja has sacked the former Governor of Benue State, Gabriel Suswam, from the Senate. The ruling, which was based on a unanimous decision by a three-member panel of Justices, found Suswam ineligible as the rightful winner of the senatorial election that took place in Benue North East on February 25.
The court’s decision comes as a response to the dispute between Suswam, a member of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), and Emmanuel Udende from the All Progressives Congress (APC). The Benue State National Assembly Election Petitions Tribunal had initially nullified Udende’s victory and declared Suswam the winner, prompting the APC candidate to appeal the decision.
The Court of Appeal found fault with the tribunal’s judgment, stating that it wrongly evaluated the evidence presented by both parties and reached an erroneous conclusion that favored Suswam’s petition. As a result, the court set aside the tribunal’s judgment and affirmed Udende as the legitimate winner of the election.
In the original election results declared by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Udende had secured 135,573 votes, while Suswam had garnered 112,231 votes. Suswam had raised concerns about over-voting, irregularities, alterations, and falsification of results, leading to his appeal to the tribunal.
The tribunal, in its judgment, found merit in Suswam’s claims and canceled a significant number of votes for both candidates. After the adjustments, Suswam was left with 90,590 votes, and Udende had 82,699 votes, making Suswam the apparent winner.
However, the Court of Appeal has now overturned this decision, reinstating Udende as the rightful winner of the Benue North East senatorial election.