Benue Tribunal controversy: Coalition drags Ikpambese, Justice Adamu before CJN over alleged ‘abuse of court process’

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Due to allegations of official abuse and disrespect for the legal system, a group of Nigerian civil society organizations has brought Justice Maurice Ikpambese, the troubled Chief Judge of Benue State, and Justice M. M. Adamu of the FCT High Court before the Chief Justice of Nigeria.

To restore the judiciary’s integrity, the organization called for Justice Kudirat Kekere-Ekun to step in.

Together with demonstrators in Abuja on Monday, the group demanded immediate action against what they called a flagrant breach of due process and judicial ethics in the Benue State Local Government Election Tribunal’s operations.

Recall that the Benue State Local Government Election cases Tribunal was directed by Justice M. M. Adamu of the FCT High Court to convene in Abuja in order to consider and rule on all cases pertaining to the local government elections held on October 5, 2024.

This is the case even though there is an existing order that moves the tribunal back to Makurdi.

During a demonstration in Abuja on Monday, the group, led by Chief Convener Comrade Igwe Ude-Umanta, charged that Justice Maurice Ikpambese had illegally granted petitioners waivers, evading a constitutional necessity for security deposits in election cases.

Additionally, they denounced his choice to shift the tribunal to Abuja, claiming that it was a blatant violation of Benue State’s electoral regulations.

Speaking to reporters during the demonstration, Igwe chastised FCT High Court Justice M. M. Adamu for ordering the tribunal to convene in Abuja in contravention of a previous court decision that forbade such a move.

He said, “We are here as concerned Nigerians who believe in the rule of law. Our democracy is in clear danger, and the Honourable Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Justice Kudirat Kekere-Ekun, must save it.

“How on earth could a Chief Judge of a state flagrantly abuse his office by flouting state laws, while the National Judicial Council (NJC) remains silent? Justice Maurice Ikpambese, the Chief Judge of Benue State, unilaterally granted a waiver to petitioners of the Local Government Election Tribunal, exempting them from paying the security deposit—a constitutional prerequisite for any valid petition—and he has not been sanctioned.

“On the strength of the NJC’s refusal to punish him, he again violated the electoral laws of Benue State by relocating the Local Government Election Petition Tribunal to Abuja, which is clearly outside its territorial jurisdiction, in violation of the Benue State Electoral Law, yet the NJC is just watching.

“In an attempt to protect the Constitution of Nigeria and the laws of Benue State, the Attorney General of Benue State approached the Federal High Court sitting in Makurdi, which granted an order restraining the tribunal from sitting anywhere outside Benue State, including the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) House, Abuja. This order was granted on March 7, 2025, to the admiration of Nigerians.

“Surprisingly, on Friday, March 14, 2025, an FCT High Court, presided over by Justice M.M. Adamu, frivolously issued another order compelling the Benue State Local Government Election Tribunal to conduct its sittings in Abuja, particularly at the NBA House.

“The question is, can Benue State laws be applied in the FCT or any other state apart from Benue State? If the answer is NO, then it is also clear that the Benue State Local Government Election Tribunal cannot sit outside Benue State.

“We are here today to submit a petition against Justice Maurice Ikpambese and Justice M.M. Adamu, who, by their actions, have turned justice into injustice.

“We call on President Bola Ahmed Tinubu not to fold his arms while the judiciary is being bastardized daily. Mr. President, sir, the Benue situation is the worst at the moment because the petitioners did not even participate in any part of the election process.

“The petitioners ordinarily have no locus standi to approach the tribunal because the Austin Agada-led APC executive was dissolved and a caretaker committee inaugurated before Justice Theresa Igoche’s order restraining the National Working Committee of the APC from dissolving the Benue State Executive was served.

“We demand the urgent intervention of Hon. Justice Kekere-Ekun, we demand the intervention of Mr. President, and we demand that the NJC call its members involved in the ongoing crisis to order in the interest of peace and justice in Benue State.”

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