The Court of Appeal in Abuja, on Wednesday, delivered a unanimous judgement that led to the removal of former Benue Governor Gabriel Suswam, who represented the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), as the Senator for Benue North East Senatorial District.
A three-member panel of Justices at the appellate court found that Suswam was not the valid winner of the senatorial election held on February 25, 2023, in Benue North East Senatorial District.
The Court of Appeal faulted the decision of the Benue State National Assembly Election Petition Tribunal, which had initially nullified the election of Mr. Emmanuel Udende of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and returned Suswam to the Senate.
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The appellate court held that the tribunal had wrongly assessed the evidence presented by the parties and arrived at an erroneous conclusion that favored Suswam’s petition against Udende’s election victory.
As a result, the Court of Appeal overturned the tribunal’s judgment and affirmed the appeal brought by the APC candidate.
In the lead judgment delivered by Justice Abimbola Osarugue Obaseki Adejumo, the court stated, “The judgment of the tribunal delivered on September 8, 2023, is hereby set aside. The return of the Appellant as the winner of the Benue North East senatorial election that was held on February 25 is hereby affirmed. Parties are to bear their respective costs.”
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) had initially declared Udende the winner of the senatorial election with 135,573 votes, surpassing Senator Suswam, who garnered 112,231 votes.