Supreme Court affirms Fr. Alia as Benue APC guber candidate

From Godwin Tsa,  Abuja.

The Supreme Court has cleared the coast for Rev. Fr. Hyacinth Alia to contest as candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the March 11  governorship election in Benue State.

This followed the dismissal of the appeal filed by Prof. Terhemba Shija, challenging the May 27, 2022 primary that produced Fr. Alia. 

The apex court ruled that the appeal was statute barred by law having discovered that the litigation was initiated after the constitutional period of 14 days.

The five- member panel of the apex court led by Justice John Okoro urged counsel to the appellant, Kenneth Ikonni, to withdraw his appeal.

Counsel to APC, Matthew Burkaa had drawn the attention of the court to a letter by the appellant, Prof. Shija, where he complained that the primary of the party held on May 26 and 27, 2022, was a charade.

Burkaa then submitted that the appellant, by his own letter which presented as exhibit C, the cause of action occurred on May 26, and therefore rendering his appeal statute barred going by the status of limitation.

In the said letter, which was read out in open court, Prof. Shija said: “He disassociated from the event of May 26 because according to him, it was a charade.”

Efforts by counsel to the appellant, Ikonni to prove that the cause of action arose after the declaration of results of the primary election, proved futile going by the heading and content of his client’s letter.

Ikonni insisted that the cause of action arose on May 28,  when the results of the primary election was announced. 

However, the court noted that going by the letter, the cause of action arose on May 26 and not May 28 as he claimed.

The court held that the matter ought to have been instituted within the 14 days stipulated by section 285 of 1999 constitution.

At the end of arguments, the court ruled that the suit was filed outside the 14 days allowed by law and the case was subsequently dismissed by a unanimous decision of the judges.

Prof Shija had  got victory against Alia at the Makurdi division of the Court of Appeal, where the court in its judgment ordered fresh elections in 11 local government err-eas (LGAs) of the state.