BY PETER DURU
MAKURDI—The newly-inaugurated Benue State Governorship Election Petitions Tribunal headed by Justice Halima Mohammed, Tuesday, adjourned sitting till December 5, to allow the defeated Action Congress of Nigeria, ACN governorship candidate at the last election, Prof Steve Ugbah, file a reply to the motion raised by Governor Gabriel Suswam challenging the jurisdiction of the tribunal to entertain the petition.

The petition was earlier dismissed by a different panel headed by Justice Ladan Mumir, but was sent back for retrial by the Supreme Court upon appeal by the ACN candidate.

At the inaugural sitting of the tribunal, counsel to Gov. Suswam and that of the ruling PDP, Donald Nwigwe, SAN, and Solo Akuma, SAN, respectively, contended that the tribunal lacked the jurisdiction to entertain the matter, citing the provisions of the 2010 Electoral Act which avails all electoral tribunals in the country 180 days to dispense of all disputes arising from the 2011 general election.

Nwigwe also intimated the court that he filed a motion on November 22, seeking the determination of the present status of the petition.

PDP counsel, Akuma, said he also filed a similar motion to that effect.

However, on his part, counsel to Ugbah, Mr. Simon Orkuma, read a portion of the Supreme Court ruling on November 14, insisting that the matter should be heard on its merit as directed by the apex court even as he requested for some days to reply to the respondent’s motion.

In her ruling, Justice Mohammed adjourned further hearing to enable the petitioners reply to the fresh motion.

Similarly, Suswam, through a motion filed by his counsel, Nwigwe, has challenged the present status of the petition filed by Prof. Daniel Saror challenging his victory at the last election.

But counsel to Prof. Saror, Mr. Chris Orpin dismissed the applications for lacking in substance, and told the tribunal that he filed an exparte motion for the commencement of pre-hearing session which was abruptly stopped after the matter was struck out by the last tribunal.

“I decided to file the exparte motion this time and deliberately refused to put the respondents on notice because last time my motion was soiled by technicalities and I do not want it to go same way this time”, Orpin stated.

In her ruling, Justice Halima Mohammed also adjourned the matter to December 5, 2011  for counsel to file their replies, motions as well as adopt  their written addresses.