HOW ALIA & HIS ALLY ATTEMPTED TO COMPROMISE SENATORIAL APPEAL BUT FAILED

…The Return & Involvement of Moses Ternenge 

Defenders of Democracy (DoD) has observed with disbelief that the young man named Moses Ternenge who some time in July made serious allegations in a leaked audio that implicated Governor Hyacinth Alia of Benue State is back to his position as a close aide and spiritual adviser to the governor. 

Recall that we had raised concerns over the young man’s boasts that he and Governor Alia would compromise the judiciary to give them favorable judgments. In the said audio, Ternenge was heard telling a group of persons about his power and influence to control and fix decisions of courts in Nigeria for governor Alia. 

He also said they had done things of the underworld that gave Alia victory in the 2023 election. 

After we and other people spoke out and asked Alia to come clean on the utterances of the young man, his media aide issued a porous statement that Ternenge had the right to hold his opinions on public affairs. That was the end of the story. The governor did not as much as challenge Ternenge to prove his allegations. 

Today, the guy is back and is seen everywhere with governor Alia. 

DoD is aware that Mr. Ternenge who is always close by the side of Governor Alia at both public functions and even in private, is said to function in a number of roles around the innermost circle of the governor, and in the leaked audio he could be heard bragging of his access to the topmost levels of the judiciary.

Bragging about his closeness to the Chief Justice of Nigeria, he said, "Do you know what we did to make Alia win the governorship election? Go all the way to the Supreme Court, no one can defeat Governor Alia in court. Do you know the caliber of people I sit and drink with in Abuja? I sit with the Chief Judge (sic) (Justice) of Nigeria, we drink tea and play together. So is it an ordinary local court case here in Benue that we will lose? This is a court case in my state where I am in charge. The Chief Judge of the state is under me.”

And true to his words, we gathered last week through our sources in Abuja that governor Alia and one former Benue state governor sent Moses with hundreds of millions of naira to bribe the Appeal Court judges who were handling the senatorial election petition for Benue North East. Ternenge was told to convince the chairman of the appeal panel that he was sent by the SGF, Senator George Akume. But the matter backfired and those who sent him lost the appeal. 

As a group with the sustenance and health of democracy at the heart of its mission, DoD sees a need for Governor Alia to tell Benue people what it is he and Ternenge have in common that the rest of the people don’t know. 

Who is Moses Ternenge to governor Alia and why is he keeping him? 

DoD demands an urgent answer from Governor Alia to this matter. 

Our next statement will be to ask governor Alia to account for the N5 billion palliatives that he received from the federal government. 

Amos Uchiv,
President 
Defenders of Democracy (DoD)