The long drawn legal battle on the All Progressives Congress, APC, gubernatorial ticket of Benue State was on Thursday laid to rest with dismissal of the suit by the Supreme Court.
The Supreme Court dismissed an appeal filed by Prof. Terhemba Shija against the May 27, 2022 primary election that produced Rev. Father Hyacinth Alia for being statute barred.
Justice Inyang Okoro who led a five-member panel of Justices of the Apex Court in a brief ruling dismissed the appeal following its withdrawal by the appellant.
The APC drew the attention of the Court to a letter of Professor Shija through his counsel Mr Kenneth Ikonne in which he complained against an event of May 26 and 27 and dissociated himself from it.
Although, Ikonne insisted that the cause of action arose on May 28, when the results of the primary election was announced, the content of his letter was used against him that he became aware of the cause of action on May 26 and ought to have instituted the suit within 14 days stipulated by section 285 of 1999 Constitution.
In the end, it was agreed that the suit was filed outside 14 days allowed by law and was subsequently dismissed by a unanimous decision of the Justices.
