The Benue State governor Samuel Ortom has lost a libel suit he instituted against Mr. Sesugh Akume, and the publisher of Sahara Reporters, Omoyele Sowore, the Presidential candidate for the African Action Alliance (AAC) in the 2023 general election.
Honourable Justice A I Ityonyiman, of the High Court Justice in Makurdi, dismissed the case as frivolous and the court held among other things that no libelous words were established by the plaintiff (Dr Samuel Ioraer Ortom), no reasonable cause of action was found, thus dismissing the case.
It would be recalled that Mr. Sesugh Akume dragged the governor of Benue and other parties to court—in one of numerous local government autonomy public interest suits—seeking an interpretation of a provision of the Benue Local Government Law 2007 which empowers the governor (whoever he/she is) to spend/reallocate monthly Federal Account Allocations Committee (FAAC) grants to the local governments through the State Local Government Joint Account (SLGJA) at will (according to the rule of man) and asking the court to declare it unconstitutional, unlawful, null and void.
Sesugh Akume also made public commentary on the lawsuit which was widely reported in the media.
Governor Ortom in his own matter with suit number MHC/326/2021 alleged that Mr. Akume had, indeed, stated that he makes deductions from local government funds in the Joint Account at will, and thereby besmirched his good name and standing in society as an upright man who cannot temper with local government funds. He also joined Mr Sowore, as publisher of one of the news media that reported the said statement.
The court found his allegations flimsy. The plaintiff is at liberty to appeal the judgement.