Benue State’s immediate-past governor, Samuel Ortom, and his deputy, Benson Abounu, have taken the Benue State Government to court to prevent it from recovering assets from them.
Remember that Governor Hyacinth Alia put up a commission last week to retrieve any state assets allegedly stolen away by Ortom and other officials during his government.
Alia, a pastor, sounded the alarm about the alleged huge looting at Government House, alleging that Ortom fled with all government vehicles, leaving nothing for his successor.
Samuel Ortom described Buhari Regime, As The Worst In History Of Nigeria
He further indicated that he inherited an empty treasury and a massive debt profile of N187.5 billion, in addition to months of unpaid pay and entitlements of state public servants and pensioners.
However, Ortom and Abounu’s lawyer, Douglas Pepe (SAN), asked the court in a petition numbered MHC/199/2023 to block the current administration from recovering assets with them.
The suit names the Benue State Governor, the asset recovery committee, and its chairman, Hingah Biem, as respondents.
The plaintiffs want the court to rule on “whether property legitimately allocated to them as entitlements and remuneration can be considered state government assets.”
They are seeking “a determination of court whether or not by the combined effect of sections 5(2), 44, 318(1) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended), the executive actions and decisions of the Governor and Government of Benue State taken by Ortom and Abounu and the State Executive Council, in good faith before May 29th, 2023, were valid.”
‘Nigeria Is on Verge of Collapse, All Is Not Well’ – Ortom Tells Buhari
They also want the court to rule on “whether or not the Governor of Benue State is bound by constitutional approvals made by his predecessor.”
The duo claimed that Alia’s asset recovery committee had no authority to interfere with their rights to property “vested in them by the Benue State Government at all material times or without following due process.”
The court has yet to set a hearing date.
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