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Court grants Benue govt right to recover 32 vehicles from Ortom, deputy
The Benue State government has secured the backing of a High Court to withdraw 32 vehicles donated to the former Governor, Samuel Ortom and his deputy, Benson Abounu, before they left office.
Justice Theresa Igoche of the Benue State High Court, sitting in Makurdi while ruling on the matter said the current administration in the state has the executive right and power to withdraw the said vehicles.
Justice Igoche dismissed the suit filed by Ortom and his Deputy, Abounu, against Governor Alia on the grounds of being speculative and seeking to limit the exercise of the constitutional powers of the governor.
Ortom and Abounu, in a suit, marked MHC/199/2023, challenged the alleged retrieval of 32 vehicles and properties allegedly donated to them and their cabinet members by the Benue State Executive Council before they left office in May.
The duo alleged that such an action of retrieval was a constitutional affront to their collective right to ownership of property legally and legitimately vested in them.
However, a statement from the Government House on Wednesday stated that the counsel for the state government, Governor Alia and the Chairman of the Assets Recovery Committee, Mohammed Ndarani (SAN), who appeared with Vershima Akaangee and Raphael Ashwe, raised and argued a Notice of Preliminary Objection challenging the jurisdiction of the court to entertain, hear and determine the suit on the grounds that it was speculative.
In the statement, Ndarani explained that the suit failed to give the identity of the cars and properties allegedly taken from the plaintiffs.
He said the suit also sought to limit the proper exercise of the executive powers of the governor to appoint appropriate committees to help in the administration of the state.
Ndarani further argued that 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 its work to conclusively establish whether they had permanently taken custody of any vehicles, hence for investigative purposes, temporary taking of custody of vehicles is allowed under the constitution.
Ndarani also stressed that if such “frivolous” suits were allowed to linger, development would be greatly hampered across the country.
But the counsel for the plaintiffs, Douglas Pepe (SAN), who appeared with Paul Sule, maintained that the plaintiffs’ cause of action was potent.
News
Breaking: NHRC, LEDAP begin consultative forum on eliminating harmful traditional, religious practices
By Bonaventure Phillips Melah
A consultative forum to seek ways of eliminating harmful traditional religious practices that impact rights of women and gender equality in Nigeria is set to begin in Abuja.
Organized by the National Human Rights Commission, NHRC, and the Legal Defence and Advocacy Project, LEDAP, the gathering is themed- “Empowering Traditional Rulers in Nigeria to Adopt and Implement Community Guidelines for Gender Equality and Non-Discrimination Against Women.”
Among dignitaries to speak at the event are Dr. Tony Ojukwu, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), the Executive Secretary of the National Human Rights Commission, Chino Obiagwu, SAN, National Coordinator, LEDAP and Prof. Joy Ezeilo, SAN, Executive Director, Women Aid Collective.
Details later…..
The Director General of AGRHYMET, Dr. Issoufou Baoua, led a high-level delegation to the Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NiMet) as part of the Joint Mission on the operationalization of the Regional Climate Centre for West Africa and the Sahel (RCC-WAS).
He was accompanied by the WMO Representative for West, Central & North Africa, Dr. Bernard Gomez, and the ECOWAS Representative, Prof. Mansur Matazu.
The mission focused on advancing regional collaboration required to fully operationalize RCC-WAS — a key initiative designed to enhance climate services, strengthen resilience, and support informed decision-making across West Africa and the Sahel.
During the engagement, the AGRHYMET DG outlined the core objectives of the mission, which include strengthening institutional partnerships, aligning regional priorities, identifying capacity-building needs, and setting actionable milestones for the effective take-off of RCC-WAS.
Receiving the delegation, the Director General/CEO of NiMet, Prof. Charles Anosike, reaffirmed NiMet’s commitment to the successful establishment of RCC-WAS. He emphasized that NiMet will provide technical expertise and tools — including MeteoWiz — participate in joint research efforts, and contribute to the development of advanced climate monitoring and forecasting capabilities for the region.
The visit marked a significant step forward in consolidating regional cooperation. Both institutions reaffirmed their shared commitment to strengthening climate services, and the meeting concluded with the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for the operationalization of the Regional Climate Centre for West Africa and the Sahel.
President Bola Tinubu has set up a high level committee to resolve issues on N4 trillion owed to federal contractors in the country.
According to Bayo Onanuga, Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, the President also expressed displeasure over the huge debt.
He made the disclosure while briefing State House correspondents at the end of the Federal Executive Council, FEC, meeting presided over by the President at the Council Chambers, Presidential Villa, Abuja.
He said the President was enraged after learning that about 2,000 contractors are owed.
Onanuga, who stood in for the Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris said: “He made it very, very clear he is not happy and wants a one-stop solution.
“An important highlight in the course of the FEC meeting is that the President expressed very, very grave displeasure about the fact that contractors are being owed money.
“The DG (Director-General) of the Bureau of Public Procurement actually told the President that about 2000 contractors are being owed money and this made the President very, very upset.
“So the ministers are going to look into the problem to really find a solution, to find the money to be used in paying the contractors.”
The presidential aide explained that the committee has as members, the Ministers of Finance (and Coordinating Minister of the Economy), Wale Edun; Budget and Economic Planning, Atiku Bagudu; Works, Dave Umahi; Education, Olatunji Alausa; Housing, Ahmed Dangiwa; and Marine & Blue Economy, Gboyega Oyetola, along with the Director-General of the Budget Office of the Federation, Tanimu Kurfi; and the Chairman of the Federal Inland Revenue Service, Dr Zacch Adedeji.
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