Benue State Govenorship Tribunal Chairman,Justice Daisy Okocha Steps Aside.

Justice Daisy Okocha

Although informations are still sketchy,reports reaching us shows that the Tribunal Chairman for The Benue State Governorship Tribunal may have being removed or stepped aside. According to The Guardian, a High Court Judge in the state, who is serving as a tribunal member in another state, allegedly approached Justice Okocha with funds to influence the tribunal in favour of a particular candidate.

 

It was learnt that Okocha rejected the offer and was said to have written a formal report to the President Court of Appeal and the Judicial Service Commission for action against the High Court judge.

Okocha also allegedly complained about the security around the tribunal.

The tribunal’s secretary, Bello Abdulahi, confirmed that its Chairman has been changed but that he did not know why she was removed.

Meanwhile, Governor Gabriel Suswam has denied accusations by the opposition Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) that his administration was behind the spate of election-related violence, which has rocked the state.

Dr. Suswam who spoke through his Special Adviser on Media and Public Affairs, Dr Cletus Akwaya, said that as the chief security officer of the state, he would not promote the use of violence for any reason because of its consequences for lives and property. He instead accused the ACN of using violence as “a tool of blackmail and intimidation to achieve its aim of getting power at all costs.”

 Meanwhile in my chat with the ACN chieftains, they also denied being responsible for the spate of violence in the state and  accused the PDP of being shaky and desparate nd looking for every means to win their case at the Tribunal.

   This is the second time a tribunal chief will be removed in Benue State.

The 2011 Benue State Governorship Election Tribunal  took off on a controversial note, with its chairman, Justice Daisy Okocha, stepping aside  under controversial circumstances.

Similarly, in 2007, when Justice Ibrahim Bukar was removed by the President, Court of Appeal after politicians wrote petitions against him, claiming that he was unyielding and may favour opponents, he was later replaced by Justice C. I. Uriri.

A new Tribunal Chairman has already been sent to replace Justice Okocha.