Taiwo Popoola
A coalition of civil society organizations in Nigeria has dragged the embattled Chief Judge of Benue State, Justice Maurice Ikpambese, and Justice M. M. Adamu of the FCT High Court before the Chief Justice of Nigeria over alleged abuse of office and disregard for court process.
The group urged Justice Kudirat Kekere-Ekun led National Judicial Council (NJC) to intervene in order to restore the integrity of the judiciary.
The coalition, alongside protesters in Abuja on Monday, called for urgent action against what they described as a gross violation of judicial ethics and due process in the handling of the Benue State Local Government Election Tribunal.
Recall that Justice M. M. Adamu of the FCT High Court had ordered the Benue State Local Government Election Petitions Tribunal to sit in Abuja to hear and determine all petitions arising from the October 5, 2024, local government elections.
This is despite a subsisting order relocating the tribunal back to Makurdi.
The group, led by Chief Convener Comrade Igwe Ude-Umanta, during a protest in Abuja on Monday, accused Justice Maurice Ikpambese of unlawfully granting waivers to petitioners, bypassing a constitutional requirement for security deposits in election cases.
They also condemned his decision to relocate the tribunal to Abuja, arguing that this move is a clear breach of Benue State’s electoral laws.
Addressing newsmen during the protest, Igwe criticized Justice M. M. Adamu of the FCT High Court for issuing an order compelling the tribunal to sit in Abuja, despite an earlier court ruling that prohibited such action.
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.”
