BREAKING: Appeal Court Sacks Suswam, Reinstate Udende As Senator

By Angula Reuben

The Court of Appeal in Abuja has ruled to remove former Benue State Governor, Rt. Hon. Gabriel Suswam from his position as a Senator. 

The three-member panel of Justices reached a unanimous decision, stating that Suswam was not the valid winner of the senatorial election that took place in Benue North East on February 25. 

The court found fault with the judgment of the Benue State National Assembly Election Petitions Tribunal, which had initially declared Suswam of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) as the winner, nullifying the election victory of Rt. Hon. Emmanuel Udende of the All Progressives Congress (APC).

The Court of Appeal concluded that the tribunal had wrongly evaluated the evidence presented by the parties involved, leading to an erroneous conclusion that upheld Suswam's petition challenging Udende's election victory. 

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Consequently, the appellate court set aside the tribunal's judgment and affirmed the victory of the APC candidate.

In the initial election, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) had declared Udende as the winner, with 135,573 votes, defeating Senator Suswam, who received 112,231 votes. 

Unsatisfied with the outcome, Suswam alleged irregularities, over-voting, and result falsification, leading to his approach to the tribunal. The tribunal agreed with Suswam's claims, citing irregularities in five out of seven Local Government Areas in the Senatorial District. As a result, votes were canceled for both candidates, which Senator Suswam left with 90,590 votes and Senator Udende with 82,699 votes.

While the tribunal had initially ruled in favor of Suswam, the Court of Appeal has now overturned that decision. The Court of Appeal's lead verdict, delivered by Justice Abimbola Obaseki, led the panel to set aside the tribunal's judgment and uphold Udende's victory. 

Parties involved are to bear their respective costs in this legal dispute.