Benue State High Court sitting in Makurdi has quashed the executive order issued by Governor Hyacinth Alia restricting public gatherings across the state.
Governor Alia had on February 27, 2024 signed the executive order, which banned public gatherings and all forms of events — including wakes, ceremonies and religious activities — beyond 10pm, alongside other restrictions.
The order was challenged in court by a former Publicity Secretary of the Peoples Democratic Party, Bemgba Iortyom, and a human rights activist, Adebayo Ogorry.
Delivering judgment last Friday, the presiding judge, Justice Theresa Igoche, held that the executive order lacked any lawful foundation and accordingly set it aside.
In a statement issued by the plaintiffs on Monday, the court was quoted as holding that the Executive Order Act, upon which the governor relied in issuing the order, had earlier been nullified by the Supreme Court, rendering the order “without lawful basis or justification whatsoever.”
The court consequently granted all the reliefs sought by the plaintiffs and issued a perpetual injunction restraining the governor, his agents and privies from enforcing or giving effect to the executive order.
Justice Igoche further declared the executive order, signed on February 28, 2024, null and void, describing it as illegal, unreasonable and ultra vires the powers of the governor, and in breach of the provisions of the 1999 Constitution (as amended).
