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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.
The David Mark-led faction of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) has approached the Court of Appeal to challenge the Federal High Court judgement that removed its leadership.
The opposition party also disclosed that it had filed an application seeking a stay of execution of the judgement pending the hearing and determination of its appeal.
The party made this known in a statement on Friday, November 6, adding that it had formally notified the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) of the legal steps taken,
The appeal is against the judgement delivered by the Federal High Court in Abuja on November 5, 2026, in Suit No. FHC/ABJ/CS/1619/2025, involving Hon. Nafiu Bala Gombe and the ADC.
The party urged INEC to refrain from taking any further action on the matter until the Court of Appeal has considered the case.
It argued that the application for a stay of execution was yet to be decided and that the electoral commission should not take any step that could affect the outcome of the appeal.
According to the ADC, it expects INEC to respect the ongoing legal process and allow the appellate court to hear the matter before making any decision connected to the judgement.
The statement partly read, “The ADC is exercising its lawful right to appeal. The judgement is now being challenged before a higher court, and the legal process must be allowed to run its course.
“We expect INEC to uphold the law and take full account of the pending proceedings before making any consequential decisions.”
The party also urged its members and supporters to remain calm, insisting that the court judgement would not stop its political activities.
It said its campaigns would continue while it explored all available legal options to defend its position.
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The Federal High Court in Abuja has nullified the leadership of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) led by Senator David Mark, declaring the caretaker committee that oversaw the party’s affairs illegal and invalidating all decisions taken by the committee.
The judgment, delivered on Thursday by Justice Peter Lifu, also affects the presidential primary that produced former Vice President Atiku Abubakar as the ADC’s flag bearer for the 2027 general elections.
Atiku, whose name had earlier been published by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) as the party’s presidential candidate, had already selected former Rivers State Governor, Rotimi Amaechi, as his running mate.
The ruling followed a suit instituted by Nafiu Bala Gombe, a former National Deputy Chairman (North-East) of the ADC, who challenged the process through which the David Mark-led leadership assumed control of the party.
Gombe argued that following the resignation of the party’s former National Chairman, Chief Ralph Nwosu, he was constitutionally entitled to take over the leadership.
He consequently asked the court to invalidate all actions undertaken by the Mark-led leadership and restrain Senator Mark and Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola from presenting themselves as the party’s National Chairman and National Secretary, respectively.
The plaintiff maintained that their emergence violated the ADC constitution and relevant provisions of the Electoral Act.
In suit No. FHC/ABJ/CS/1819/2025, the ADC, INEC, Senator David Mark, Aregbesola and Chief Ralph Nwosu were listed as defendants.
Justice Lifu upheld Gombe’s claims and granted the reliefs sought, effectively invalidating the authority of the caretaker committee and decisions taken under its leadership.
The verdict is expected to trigger fresh political uncertainty within the ADC, particularly over Atiku’s presidential ambition and the party’s preparations for the January 16, 2027 presidential election.
However, the party has vowed to challenge the judgment at the appellate court.
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