Gabriel Suswam, a former Governor of Benue State, has been removed from the Senate by the Court of Appeal sitting in Abuja.
The appellate court, in a unanimous decision by a three-member panel of Justices on Wednesday, stated that Suswam was not the legitimate winner of the senatorial election held in Benue North East on February 25.
It criticized the Benue State National Assembly Election Petitions Tribunal‘s decision to return Suswam of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to the Senate.
The tribunal overturned Emmanuel Udende’s All Progressives Congress (APC) election victory.
According to the appellate court, the tribunal incorrectly evaluated the evidence presented to it by the parties in the matter, resulting in an incorrect conclusion that upheld Suswam’s petition to challenge Udende’s election victory.
As a result, the court overturned the tribunal’s decision, stating that it found merit in the APC candidate’s appeal.
In its decision, Justice Abimbola Osarugue Obaseki Adejumo of the Court of Appeal ruled that “The judgement of the tribunal delivered on 8/9/2023 is hereby set aside.
“The return of the Appellant as the winner of the Benue North East senatorial election that was held on February 25 is hereby affirmed.
“Parties are to bear their respective cost.”
Visitodell recalls that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) declared Udende the winner of the senatorial election after he received 135,573 votes to Senator Suswam’s 112,231 votes.
Suswam filed a complaint with the tribunal because the election was marred by over-voting, irregularities, alterations, and falsification of results.
