Breaking: Kogi Governorship Election Tribunal Relocates To Abuja

By David Onuoja, Abuja

NEWSDAILYNIGERIA: The Election Tribunal handling the Kogi State election petition on the just concluded November 11 Governorship election in the state has been relocated to Abuja for safety reasons.

In a statement from Justice Monica Dongban-Mensem, who is the President of the Court of Appeal, said on Wednesday that the relocation has to take immediate effect.

According to News Agency of Nigeria, it said it received a statement issued and signed by one David Umar Mike, who is the Secretary of the Tribunal, said that its sittings would no longer be in Lokoja but at the National Judicial Institute on Umar Yar’Adua Way, Abuja.

It said, by this notice, all the litigants and parties are urged to take note of the change in venue.

Though, the statement did not give the reason why the relocation, but a top source at the tribunal said the step was necessitated due to the “security reasons”.

It was gathered that members of the staff of tribunal had been attacked on several occasions in Loloja.

Just last Monday, tribunal officials were attacked on their way to the office as Armed men just pounced on the officials and robbed them of everything and went away with all the documents that were in their car.

It was learnt again that, Copies of petitions and personal belongings, official receipts, processes like subpoena, official stamps, were all stolen.

Over the last two weeks, thugs were seen frustrating the job and the lives of the officials at the Lokoja sitting which makes their lives at stake; making it difficult for the tribunal to work there.

Apart from the attacks on the Tribunal officials, INEC officials like the Resident Electoral Commissioner, Gabriel Hale Longpet was also attacked in his residence, Lokoja the state capital; including the barricades of the Lokoja INEC office.

All Progressive Congress (APC), won in the November 11 Off-cycle election, with the Social Democratic Party coming second.