The Benue State High Court has halted the Benue State Government’s probe into the administration of former Governor Samuel Ortom. This order prevents the investigative panel from convening until a motion filed by Ortom is resolved.
Justice T. T. Asua issued the ruling, which seeks to prohibit the Benue State Income and Expenditure Commission of Inquiry from proceeding based on a recent state gazette. Ortom’s lawyer, Oba Maduabuchi, SAN, argued that under the 1999 Constitution, the Auditor General already has the authority to audit state finances and has done so, with reports submitted to the Benue State House of Assembly.
Maduabuchi claimed that the House has acted on these reports, making the new commission redundant and outside the governor’s powers. He asserted that the commission’s actions constituted an abuse of office and vendetta.
