By Peter Duru, Makurdi

A Makurdi High Court presided over by the Chief Judge of Benue State, Justice Maurice Ikpambese, has dismissed the Motion on Notice, filed by the governor of the state, Rev. Fr. Hyacinth Alia, seeking to set aside the judgement obtained at the National Industrial Court, NIC, by the suspended 23 local government council chairmen of the state, restraining the state government from sacking them from office.

Recall that the Makurdi Division of the National Industrial Court of Nigeria, NICN, had in a recent judgment delivered by Justice Innocent Essien, restrained the governor, the Benue State Government, Speaker of the State Assembly, and three others from “dissolving or suspending the elected council chairmen without due process before the expiration of their tenure in office on June 29, 2024,” amongst other reliefs.

Dissatisfied with the ruling, the governor, Benue State Government, Speaker of the Assembly, and three others filed a motion seeking “a judicial review of the ruling of the Court.”

Ruling on the application on Wednesday, Justice Ikpambese held that “a court can only sit over the judgment of a court of coordinate jurisdiction if the judgment is a nullity or the judgment was obtained by fraud.”

He ruled that the court “is incompetent to review the judgment of a brother-court, especially as the issue of jurisdiction was dealt with in the said judgment.”

Justice Ikpambese further held that there was no basis for the applicants to approach the court for a judicial review, adding that “what the applicants ought to do is to appeal the judgment of the National Industrial Court.”

He accordingly dismissed the application for lack of merit.

Similarly, the court also dismissed the originating summons by the 23 Chairmen against the Benue State Governor and five others challenging their suspension, on the grounds that “the same reliefs sought in the suit before the court were granted by the National Industrial Court, which is a court of coordinate jurisdiction.”

Reacting to the development, the Chairman of Kwande of Local Government Area, LGA, Mr. Orjiir Gbande said it was a victory for democracy.