Benue lodge: Court rejects Suswam’s bid to stop recovery

A Makurdi High Court judge, Justice Theresa Igoche, has dismissed the motion filed by a former Governor of Benue State, Gabriel Suswam, seeking a stay of execution on the judgment delivered against him to revoke his allocation of Atom Kpera Lodge.
Governor Samuel Ortom had constituted a judicial commission of inquiry to recover government properties allocated to Suswam, including Atom Kpera Lodge in Makurdi, and the High Court in Makurdi, presided over by Justice Igoche, in February, dismissed the suit filed by Suswam.

Following the judgment, the counsel to the former governor, Dave Iorhemba, urged the court to grant a stay of execution on the grounds that his client had appealed the judgment of the Makurdi High Court at the Court of Appeal, Makurdi Division.

But the counsel for the Benue State Government, Mile Assoh, on Friday, opposed the application, stating that by law, there was no executory enforceable judgment against the former governor.

Ruling, Justice Igoche said she agreed with the submission of Assoh that there was no executory order against any party requiring a rider of stay and dismissed the motion for “lacking in merit.”