Protesters Monday morning besieged the Headquarters of the Nigerian Bar Association in Abuja demanding the relocation of Benue State Local Government Election Petition Tribunal to Abuja after a court order.
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The protest came following a court order from the Federal High Court in Makurdi on Friday, March 7 restraining the Benue Local Government Election Petition Tribunal from holding sessions at the NBA House, Abuja, or any other venue outside the state.
Recall that the Benue State Chief Judge, Justice Maurice Ikpambese, had directed the relocation of the Local Government Election Petition Tribunal to Abuja with immediate effect.
The relocation, according to a circular personally signed by the Chief Judge, was due to insecurity surrounding the tribunal venues in Makurdi, Gboko, and Otukpo.
However,a Federal High Court sitting in Makurdi on Friday restrained the Benue Local Government Election Petition Tribunal from holding at the NBA House, Abuja, or any other venue outside the state.
Justice R.K. Egbe held that any plan to hold the tribunal at any venue outside Benue State be suspended or put on hold pending the hearing and determination of the motion on notice.
The protesters, led by Dr. Alfred Gbaja and Comrade David Okpanachi, condemned the decision by the Chief Judge of Benue State, Justice Maurice Ikpambese, to move the tribunal outside its jurisdiction despite a Federal High Court order barring such action.
Chanting solidarity songs and carrying placards, the demonstrators accused the chief judge of attempting to subvert justice and undermine the rule of law.
They vowed to continue their protest until the tribunal is returned to Benue State in accordance with legal provisions.
Okpanachi said, “We have raised the alarm in recent past that Justice Ikpambese has a clandestine arrangement to subvert justice in Benue State.
“The Electoral Act states that for one to be qualified to petition an election at the tribunal, the person must have participated in the election.
“In the case of the Benue State Local Government Election Petition Tribunal, the petitioners did not participate in any process of the election, as the national leadership of the APC in February 2024 had dissolved its Benue State Executive and replaced it with a unity caretaker committee.
“The fear that if allowed, Justice Maurice Ikpambese would destroy the Nigerian judiciary completely with a dangerous precedent is about to play out.
“How would the world look at Nigeria where a chief judge is deliberately violating the law and the country is quiet?
“We are advocates for social justice, social crusaders, and good governance. It is wrong to entertain petitions from those who did not participate in any form of the election and later relocate the same tribunal from the three senatorial zones of the state to Makurdi without any visible reason, and further relocate the tribunal to Abuja, which is clearly out of jurisdiction.
“The Nigerian Bar Association, as a pressure group, should not be used to perpetuate illegality, disregard for court orders, and clear violations of the Nigerian Constitution and the Electoral Act 2022 as amended.
“If the tribunal sits anywhere other than Benue State, especially at the NBA House, against a court order, it therefore means that the leadership of the Nigerian Bar Association has compromised.
“We demand that no lawyer should represent any petitioner or respondent in the court since the Chief Judge of Benue State insists on illegality, and his actions are tantamount to destroying the judiciary with his trivial sentiment above justice.
“We shall continue to occupy the Nigerian Bar Association, NBA House, and the National Judicial Council, NJC, until the right thing is done.”
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