CSOs Picket NJC HQ, Fault Benue LG Tribunal Relocation

A coalition of civil society organizations (CSOs) in Abuja have criticized the relocation of the Benue State Local Government Election Petition Tribunal from the North Central state to the nation’s capital despite the controversy surrounding the Supreme Court’s removal of Justice Maurice Ikpembese from the state’s capital.

Igwe Ude-Umanta, the coalition’s convener, addressed a rally held on Monday at the National Judicial Council (NJC) headquarters in Abuja) that the tribunal is still sitting.

He made an appeal to Justice Kudirat Kekere-Ekun, the country’s supreme court, to address the alleged corruption in the judiciary, particularly in light of Benue State.

The organizations claimed that registered political parties have outgrown the Nigerian judiciary.

Justice Maurice Ikpambese’s status as NJC’s Chief Judge is also available.

The judiciary is the foundation of every democracy, according to Ude-Umanta. The court of law is supposed to be the justice’s arbiter in cases where the constitution is interpreted without bias, but today it is. More politicized than registered political parties, Nigerian courts have.

How on earth could a state’s chief judge defame the state’s laws while keeping quiet about the National Judicial Council (NJC)? The Chief Judge of Benue State, Justice Maurice Ikpambese, unilaterally granted a waiver to local government election tribunal petitioners, a constitutional condition for any legitimate petitioner, and he has not received any punishment.

“On the grounds that the NJC refused to punish him, he once more violated the Electoral Laws of Benue State by moving the Local Government Elections Petition Tribunal to Abuja, which is clearly outside the Benue State Electoral Law, while the NJC is only watching.”

The Attorney General of Benue State approached the Federal High Court sitting in Makurdi to request a ruling restraining the Tribunal from sitting anywhere besides Benue State, including the Abuja house of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA). The admiration of Nigerians received this order on March 7, 2025.

“Unsurprisingly, on Friday, March 14, 2025, an FCT High Court 34, led by Justice M. M. Adamu, frivolously issued a second order for the Benue State Local Government Election Tribunal to hold a session in Abuja, particularly at the NBA home.

The question is, “Can the laws of Benue State be applied in any other state besides Benue State” in the FCT? If the answer is no, it is also obvious that Benue State Local Government Election Tribunal cannot serve outside of Benue State.

We are present to protest Justice Maurice Ikpambese and Justice M. M. Adamu, who have, through their deeds, made justice a criminal offense.

We urge President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to keep his arm because the judiciary is being treated with scorn every day. The petitioners did not even take part in any of the election process, making the situation in Benue the worst one at the moment, Monsieur President.

Source: Channels TV