On Tuesday, the asset recovery committee led by Hyacinth Alia, the governor of Benue State, attacked the auto repair shop run by Samuel Ortom, the former governor, with towing vehicles and removed various vehicles.
Alia just revealed that the previous governor is accused of looting 29 government vehicles through his chief press secretary, Kula Tersoo.
In a statement, Tersoo had claimed that “the case of the Government House is particularly pitiable with vandalized furniture, window blinds, electronics and other domestic goods.
“This is in addition to the removal of all vehicles, including an ambulance and a press bus, from the governor’s office.
At latest count, 29 vehicles belonging to the governor’s office were still missing.
The asset recovery committee invaded Ortom’s auto shop on Tuesday afternoon, according to a source who spoke to our correspondent on Tuesday, but the workers inside resisted them.
When reached, Bemgba Iortyom, the PDP’s publicity secretary, acknowledged that state agents did visit Ortom’s vehicle repair shop.
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According to Iortyom, “Governor Alia has now deployed towing trucks to ex-Governor Ortom’s auto workshop to take away vehicles after attempts to drive them away failed.”
As you may remember, Ortom and his deputy Benson Abounu obtained a court order prohibiting the asset recovery committee from pursuing them.
Ortom and Abounu requested that the court assess “whether property… lawfully assigned to them as entitlements and remuneration can be regarded as state government assets” in the lawsuit with the case number MHC/199/2023 that they filed through their attorney, Douglas Pepe (SAN).
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They ask the court to “determine whether or not, in light of the combined effect of sections 5(2), 44, and 318(1) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended), the executive actions and decisions of the Governor and Government of Benue State taken by Ortom and Abounu and the State Executive Council, in good faith before May 29, 2023, were valid.”
Additionally, the former governor and his deputy ask the court to rule on “whether or not the Governor of Benue State is not bound by the constitutional approvals given by his predecessor.”
They argue that Alia’s asset recovery committee has the authority to impede their ability to exercise ownership rights over property “vested in them by the Benue State Government at all material times or without complying with due process.”
