The Court of Appeal in Abuja, on Wednesday, removed Gabriel Suswam, the former Governor of Benue State, from the Senate.
In a unanimous decision by a three-member panel of Justices, the court concluded that Suswam was not the legitimate winner of the senatorial election in Benue North-East held on February 25.
It criticized the judgment of the Benue State National Assembly Election Petitions Tribunal, which had reinstated Suswam to the Senate and invalidated the election victory of Emmanuel Udende from the All Progressives Congress.
The appellate court stated that the tribunal had incorrectly assessed the evidence presented by the parties, resulting in an incorrect conclusion that favored Suswam’s petition against Udende’s election win.
Consequently, the court overturned the tribunal’s judgment, finding merit in the appeal made by the APC candidate.
In its lead verdict that was delivered by Justice Abimbola Osarugue Obaseki Adejumo, who led the panel, the appellate court held, “The judgment of the tribunal delivered on 8/9/2023 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 cost.”
It’s worth noting that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) had initially declared Udende as the winner of the senatorial election, with 135,573 votes, surpassing Senator Suswam, who received 112,231 votes.
However, Suswam, dissatisfied with the election results, brought his case to the tribunal, alleging that the election was tainted by over-voting, irregularities, result alterations, and falsification.
The tribunal, in its ruling, determined that Suswam had successfully proven that irregularities occurred in five out of the seven Local Government Areas (LGAs) in the Senatorial District. As a result, it invalidated 51,895 votes for Senator Udende and 21,229 votes for Senator Suswam.
After deducting the disputed votes, Senator Suswam was left with 90,590 votes, while Senator Udende received 82,699 votes.
Supporting Suswam’s petition, Justice Ori Zik-Ikeoha’s panel issued a judgment in Suswam’s favor. However, this decision was overturned by the appellate court on Wednesday.