Impeached Benue Speaker, Titus Uba wins in court

By David Mzer

A Makurdi High Court presided over by the Chief Judge of Benue State Justice Aondover Kaka’an today vacated the interim order restraining the Speaker of the Benue State House of Assembly, Titus Uba, and 21 other members from holding sittings at the Assembly complex.

Justice Kaka’an vacated the order while ruling on a motion brought before the court by counsels to the Speaker led by Senior Advocates of Nigeria, Sebastine Hon and Edward Ashiekaa who had prayed the court to set aside its interim order of August 13th, 2018.

The order restrained Speaker Uba and the 21 others from conducting legislative business at the complex.

In his ruling, Justice Kaka’an stated that by law the judicial arm of government could not restrain the Benue State House of Assembly from performing its legislative functions.

He stated that the role of the judiciary is not to overheat the polity with orders capable of destabilizing same, and maintained that the court should not encourage impunity in any way.

The Chief Judge described the argument against granting of the motion by counsel to the former Speaker, Terkimbi Ikyange and seven others, Mr Sunday Okpale as an academic exercise.

He ruled that the interim order of August 13, 2018 which restrained the use of the Assembly complex played on the intelligence of an earlier order and the entire legal system and was a dent on the image of the judiciary.

Justice Kaka’an maintained that injunctive orders were not at the beck and call of the court to be shared and that claimants must earn them.

He transfered the substantive case to High Court 9 presided over by Justice Augustine Ityonyiman for hearing and determination on November 26th, 2018.

Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, Mr Micheal Gusa, in a reaction, stated that by virtue of the ruling, the Benue State House of Assembly under the leadership of Hon. Uba could resume the conduct of legislative business at the Assembly Complex.

He said the ruling upheld the principle of Separation of Powers in a democracy.