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Tag: Benue State

  • BREAKING! Appeal Court affirms Hyacinth Alia as Benue Gov

    BREAKING! Appeal Court affirms Hyacinth Alia as Benue Gov

    The Appeal Court sitting in Abuja has quashed the appeal by Peoples, Democratic Party (PDP) and its candidate in the last governorship election in Benue state.

    The appeal had challenged the September 23 judgment of the Governorship Election Petition Tribunal which dismissed their petition against the return of Hyacinth Alia of the All Progressives Congress (APC) as the winner of the governorship election held on March 18.

    A three-member panel of the court, in a unanimous judgment, resolved the three issues, distilled for determination, against the appellants and held that the appeal was without merit.

    The court affirmed the judgment of the tribunal on the grounds that, not only were issues raised in the petition pre-election matters, but the PDP and its candidate failed to prove their claim of forgery raised against the APC’s deputy governorship candidate in the election – Samuel Ode – beyond reasonable doubt as required.

  • FG to build 200 houses for IDPs in Benue

    FG to build 200 houses for IDPs in Benue

    Benue Government says the Federal Government is building 200 low-cost houses for internally-displaced persons (IDPs) in the state.

    Commissioner for Humanitarian Affairs and Disaster Management, Mr Aondowase Kunde, disclosed this to newsmen on Friday in Makurdi.

    Mr Kunde said that the 200 low-cost houses would be built in clusters across the eight most-devastated local government areas of the state.

    He said the state government had carried out extensive consultations with relevant stakeholders, especially the traditional council, religious leaders and displaced persons, amongst others before arriving at the decision.

    The commissioner said that the IDPs had agreed to return to the cluster houses that would be built, adding that schools, hospitals and other social amenities would also be provided for them.

    He said that the state government would support the federal government by providing land, labour and other things needed within the areas for the success of the project.

    He further stated that the locals in the affected communities would build the houses themselves, while the federal government would provide the funds and supervision.

    According to him, the IDPs are already in the process of clearing the area at Tatyoo, Mbagwen, Makurdi Local Government Area, for the construction of the houses in the area, adding that they would be paid for the job.

    “I was asked to clear the area within 24 hours for the construction of the first phase of cluster resettlement homes in Tatyo, Mbagwen and at the Ichwa IDPs camp. The minister added another 20 houses, making it 40 homes in the first phase.

    “Altogether, the federal government is building 200 houses for the IDPs in Benue State.

    “The traditional rulers have allocated lands in the eight affected LGs for this project. The Tiv Traditional Council has also approved cluster settlements.

    “In the nearest future, with our scattered ways of settlements, we may not have land for farming anymore, but with cluster settlements, we will continue to have adequate land for our farming activities,” he said.

    Kunde commended the federal government for declaring a state of emergency on the humanitarian crises in the state, adding that the situation has gone beyond what the state could handle.

    He expressed the regret that before the assumption of office of Gov. Hyacinth Alia, the state had no humanitarian history.

    The commissioner said that at the moment, that there were 21 camps for IDPs in six council areas, adding that the people of Kwande and Agatu had, over time, refused to stay in camps, but with people across the state.

    On palliatives, he said that the state government was putting everything together to ensure appropriate and efficient distribution of the palliatives to the people in the next two weeks.

    Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation, Dr Betta Edu, had, on Thursday, flagged off the construction of the resettlement homes for IDPs in the state.

    Edu had also requested development partners, donor agencies and humanitarian partners to immediately deploy and intervene in the ongoing humanitarian crisis in the state.

    She said that the order had become imperative, following the magnitude of the sufferings being faced by IDPs in the state.

    The minister said that the federal government would officially write the development partners, donor agencies and other humanitarian partners within and outside the country on the need for their immediate intervention in humanitarian crisis in the state.

  • 5 men to die by hanging in Benue

    5 men to die by hanging in Benue

    A Makurdi High Court Judge, Justice T. A. Kume sentenced five men to death by hanging over culpable homicide on Wednesday.

    The men, Terna Zwave, Jonathan Gbajime, John Bur, Gabriel Ianna and Kwaghgba Zaki, who lived at Anchoha Village, Gwer-East Local Government Area of Benue were charged before a Makurdi Magistrates’ Court in 2021.

    They were charged with criminal conspiracy, criminal trespass, mischief and culpable homicide punishable under sections 97, 349, 329 and 222 of the penal code laws of Benue, 2004.

    The prosecution said on Oct 5, 2021, the men conspired and trespassed on a land belonging to one Oliver Jato and cut down trees in order to make charcoal.

    Prosecution said the defendants were then confronted by Abraham Hwange, Peter Agber and the deceased which resulted in a violent scuffles.

    He said during the violent scuffles the convicts beat Biija to death.

    The case was eventually transferred to the High Court by legal advice.

    When the case came up, the first defendant, Zwave pleaded guilty while all others pleaded not guilty.

    The defendants testified for themselves without calling any witness while prosecution called seven witnesses to prove its case.

    Prosecution counsel, R.B.N Amenger in his final written address submitted that the rest defendants plea of not guilty was only a mere denial.

    Amenger argued that the defendants had completely failed to raise a defence as to the commission of all the offences established but rather dwell on mere denials and technicalities which he said were not material or fatal to the case of the prosecution.

    Defence counsel, D.U Liam in his final written addresses said that the prosecution had not proved its case beyond reasonable doubt to warrant sentence of the defendants.

    However, the trial Justice ruled that prosecution had proven its case beyond all reasonable doubts, saying that denying commission of offence did not amount to not committing it.

    Kume said the burden of prove rests on the defense counsel which he failed to achieve.

    Kume said he had heard the plea for mercy by the defendants and the statement by their counsel in which the Lord’s prayers was contained in the words.

    He stated that the law for which he was bound to apply in the case did not have the grace contained in the Lord’s prayer.

    He, therefore, sentenced them to death by hanging on the four counts charge.

  • Pastor accused of stealing genitals, beaten to pulp in Benue

    Pastor accused of stealing genitals, beaten to pulp in Benue

    Dr Aime, a pastor at the Living Faith Church and a lecturer at the Torkula Polytechnic, Markurdi, the Benue State capital was on Wednesday morning beaten to pulp by irate mob following allegation of genital theft.

    He was reportedly preaching during a gospel outreach, on Wednesday, around the Wurukum area of Makurdi but trouble started when he laid hands on a young man to pray for him.

    The young man being prayed for raised an alarm that his genital had disappeared.

     

    Sources told Journalists  that Okada riders gathered around the pastor and nearly lynched him before the arrival of military and policemen at the scene who rescued him.

    Pastor Aime and the victim of the alleged genital theft were then taken to the E Divisional Police in Makurdi where the police confirmed that the alarm was false and the supposed disappeared genital was intact.

    The DPO of E Divisional Police in Makurdi said he was going to prosecute anyone who raised false alarms over genital theft in the state.

    It was gathered that relatives of the young man who raised the false alarm are now pleading with the police not to prosecute him.

     

    Benue State Police Command Spokesperson, SP, Catherine Anene could not be reached at the time of this report

  • Benue UTH abandons drugs worth N200 million to expire

    Benue UTH abandons drugs worth N200 million to expire

    The Management of Benue State University Teaching Hospital (BSUTH), Makurdi, on Friday, destroyed expired drugs and medical consumables worth N200 million.

    The hospital’s Chief Medical Director, Dr Stephen Hwande, told newsmen during the exercise that the drugs were acquired by the hospital but left unused.

    “The drugs and consumables were acquired by the hospital, but the same hospital abandoned them to expire in the store.

    “Incidentally, same hospital went ahead to privatise it’s pharmaceutical department,” he said.

    He said that he discovered over 100 unclaimed corpses in the hospital’s morgue and had written to the Commissioner of Police for permission on what he planned to do.

    “Today we are destroying expired drugs and consumables that are worth over N200m. I came here two weeks ago and have visited every store.

    “During the visit, I discovered drugs worth close to N200 million and consumables inside the store.

    “What is surprising is that these drugs were acquired to be used by this hospital, so why abandon them and privatise the hospital pharmaceutical department.

    “You can distribute the drugs to the general hospitals or other hospitals in the state for usage.

    “You can also send them to the IDP camps or carry out community medical outreach. So, there is no reason to allow this quantity of drugs to expire,” Hwande said.

    Before the coming of Hwande, it was reported that patients were asked by the hospital to buy even paracetamol and hand groves, amongst other drugs and consumables.

    The State Governor, Rev. Fr. Hyacinth Alia approved the appointment of Hwande as the new CMD of the facility on October 17.

  • Bank robbery: Benue govt assures of adequate security

    Bank robbery: Benue govt assures of adequate security

    Col Alex Igbaya (retd), the Special Adviser on Security to Benue State Governor, has assured residents of the state that adequate security measures will be put in place to prevent a reoccurrence of the deadly bank robbery in Otukpo that claimed several lives and left many others in critical conditions in the hospital.

    Igbaya, who paid an on-the-spot visit to places where the incident occurred, particularly the Otukpo Divisional Police Headquarters, where four policemen, including the DPO, were killed, said the incident is regrettable and sad.

    “I am in Otukpo to see the situation and I commend the security agencies for standing up to the criminals. As you can see, four of them have been arrested, and two died during an exchange of gunshots with security men. Unfortunately, we lost four security men,” he said.

    According to him, the new government will not tolerate crime under any guise in the state.

    Meanwhile, the Benue State Police Command has confirmed that the Divisional Police Officer (DPO) in charge of Otukpo, CSP John Adikwu, and three other police officers lost their lives in the bloody bank robbery.

  • How spiritual healer duped my wife of N16.5 million

    How spiritual healer duped my wife of N16.5 million

    A 55-year-old spiritual healer, Samuel Zungwe, was, on Thursday, remanded by a Makurdi Magistrates’ Court for allegedly defrauding a woman of N16.5 million.

    Zungwe, of Samuel Compound, Orlufaga, Den street, Gbanka, Gboko Local Government Area of Benue, was arraigned by the police on a count charge bordering on fraud.

    The Magistrate, Mrs Adah Jack, did not, however, take the defendant’s plea for want of jurisdiction.

    Jack ordered that the defendant be remanded in Makurdi Correctional Centre, pending further investigations.

    She adjourned the case till Nov. 7 for further mention.

    The Police Prosecutor, Insp Regina Ishaya, told the court that a petition, dated Oct. 3, was written by one Pevigo Peter to the Commissioner of Police, Benue command.

    Ishaya said that the complainant said in his petition that sometime in 2011, his wife, Mrs Hajara Peter, came in contact with the defendant who convinced her that he could heal her of her abdominal pain.

    He stated that the self-acclaimed religious healer lured Hajara to consistently pay him cash sum of money ranging from N70,000 to N120,000 monthly, all amounting to N15 million, under the pretence of building six churches.

    She added that the defendant then warned the victim not to tell anybody or else, she and all her family members would die.

    Ishaya said that sometime in September, the defendant also told the victim that he had completed the churches and needed money for fencing and furnishing.

    She said that the defendant again forced the victim to again transfer N1.5 million to a Polaris Bank account number: 3043305117, with the name: Zungwe Samuel Atim.

    The prosecutor said that the complainant further explained that when his wife demanded to see the churches being built, the defendant could not show her any.

    She said that it was then the victim realised that she had been duped by the defendant and reported the matter to her husband.

    Ishaya said that during police investigations, the phone number of the defendant was tracked and he was found in a hideout in Gboko East, Benue and arrested, adding that he had confessed to committing the crime.

    She, however, said that the matter was still under investigation and prayed the court for another date for mention.

    According to her, the offence contravenes Section 1(3) of Advance Fee Fraud and Other Related Offences Act, 2006 and Section 398 of the Penal Code Law of Benue State, 2004.

  • Gov Alia reacts as gunmen kill 5 in Benue

    Gov Alia reacts as gunmen kill 5 in Benue

    Gunmen on Wednesday killed five persons in Ayilamo, a village in Logo Local Government of Benue State.

    According to Mr Sewuese Anene, spokesman of the Police Command in the north-central state, the attack occurred on Tuesday night.

    “A few others sustained injuries,” Anene added.

    She said that another attack occured in Mbachohon community in Gwer-West Local Government, but added that details in respect of that incident were not available.

    Unconfirmed reports indicated that six people were killed in the Mbachohon attack.

    “The attacks are unfortunate; more security men are being deployed to the areas to restore peace,” Anene said.

    Benue: Alia condemns wanton killings in Logo, Gwer-West LGAs

    Meanwhile, Gov. Hyacinth Alia of Benue has condemned the attacks on Ayilamo and Mbachohon Communities in Logo and Gwer-West Local Government Areas of the state.

    The governor’s condemnation was contained in a press statement issued by his Chief Press Secretary, Tersoo Kula, and made available to newsmen in Makurdi on Wednesday.

    The statement frowned at the nefarious activities of the attackers, suspected to be herders, who it claimed, maim and kill innocent citizens in cold blood and for unfounded reasons.

    It descibed Benue as an agrarian society, with an economy that is largely based on producing and maintaining crops and farmlands.

    “We cannot watch our people killed daily on their farmlands and their villages for a cause very unknown to us,” the statement added.

    According to Kula, the governor said he would not rest until such barbaric acts are curtailed.

    He also stated that the governor sympathised with the families that lost their loved ones in the attacks and called on security agencies to apprehend the perpetrators.

    It further called on traditional rulers and youths in the state to be vigilant and report any suspicious movement to the security agencies.

    Recall the state Police Command had confirmed that five persons were killed in the attack at Logo, while the casualty figure in Gwer West had yet to be ascertained.

  • Court throws out Ortom’s suit against Alia

    Court throws out Ortom’s suit against Alia

    A Benue High Court sitting in Makurdi, has held that former Governor and his deputy, Mr Samuel Ortom’s and Mr Benson Abounu’s suit against the Governor and Government of Benue sought to delimit the governor’s constitutional powers.

    Delivery the judgement on Wednesday, Justice Theresa Igoche struck out the suit for being speculative and seeking to limit the constitutional powers of a democratically elected State Governor in Nigeria.

    Igoche further described the suit as an academic exercise that sought to delimit the constitutional powers of a governor as contained in Section 5 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

    She said, “This court and in fact all other courts will not act on speculation. In my view, this suit is premature at this stage as there are no sufficient facts to support the reliefs sought in this originating summons.

    “Even on the ground two of the grounds upon which this application is predicted, I agree with the applicants counsel that the suit as presently constituted aims at delimiting the constitutional powers of the Governor granted by section 5 of the Constitution.

    “This case is not saying that the Governor’s exercise of powers cannot be questioned at all. What I am saying in the instance case is that the plaintiffs have not brought sufficient evidence of any act of the defendants to warrant the determination of the questions set out in the reliefs in the originating summons.”

    Ortom and Abounu had dragged the governor, Benue Government, Nigerian Army, Nigerian Police Force, DSS, Hinga Biem and all members of the State Assets Recovery Committee before the high court.

    Ortom, the immediate past governor of the State and his deputy in the suit challenged the retrieval of vehicles and property donated to them and their cabinet members by the Benue Executive Council before their handover on May 29

    They alleged that, such action of retrieval was a constitutional affront to their collective rights to ownership of property legally and legitimately vested in them by the then State Executive Council members.

    Their counsel, Douglas Pepe (SAN) said the cause of action was potent and alleged that over 32 vehicles donated to the Plaintiffs by the Benue State Executive Council before they left office on May 29th had been taken custody off by the Defendants.

    Pepe held that their decision to take the custody or seize the 32 vehicles was an affront to plaintiffs right to ownership of property.

    He urged the trial court to restrain the defendants and their agents from interfering with any of the property donated to them by the past administration.

    However, counsel to the Governor, Government of Benue State, Chairman of the Assets Recovery Committee and other defendants Mohammed Ndarani (SAN) challenged the jurisdiction of the court to entertain the matter.

    Ndarani also held that the entire case of the plaintiffs was based on speculation as it failed to give identity of the cars and properties allegedly taken from the Plaintiffs.

    He also urged the court to dismissed the suit because its sought to limit the executive powers of the governor to appoint and appropriate committees to help in the administration of the State.

    Ndarani said the terms of reference of the committee to decipher the extent of their powers and to help determine whether the committee had overlapped its authority were not before the court.

    He said the committee was also not shown to have completed it work to conclusively establish whether they had permanently taken custody of any vehicles, hence for investigative purpose, temporary taking of custody of vehicles is allowed under the constitution.

    The counsel stressed that, if such frivolous suits were allowed to linger, development would be greatly hampered across the country.

  • APC will govern Benue without interruption – Gov Alia

    APC will govern Benue without interruption – Gov Alia

    Gov. Hyacinth Alia of Benue says that his party, the All Progressives Congress (APC), will govern the state for many years without interruption from any other political party.

    The governor said this while addressing officials of the party at its expanded meeting held in Makurdi

    This is contained in a press statement by Sir Tersoo Kula, Chief Press Secretary (CPS) to the Governor and made available to newsmen on Tuesday in Makurdi.

    Alia, represented by his Chief of Staff (CoS), Mr Paul Biam, said that as leader of the party in the state, he was poised toward ensuring that the party and Benue people in general enjoy the dividends of democracy.

    The governor also promised to make the party proud, insisting that his administration would change the fortunes of Benue people.

    ”Our good works will surely endear us to the people; we will make the party proud by addressing the yearnings and aspirations of the masses

    ”I wish to call on the party leadership to support us in our drive to meeting the yearnings and aspirations of our people,”he called.

    Responding, Mr Austin Agada, APC Chairman in the state, promised to support the governnor to reposition the state for the greater good of all.