The President of the Court of Appeal, Justice Monica Dongban-Mensem has heeded the call by stakeholders to relocate the Kogi Governorship Election Petitions Tribunal from Lokoja to Abuja.
A statement by secretary of the tribunal David Umar Mike indicated that its sitting would now be at the National Judicial Institute on Umar Yar’Adua Way.
It urged litigants to take note of the venue change.
Though the statement was not forthcoming on the reason behind the relocation, but a source at the tribunal indicated that the step was necessitated by “security reasons.”
The source said that members of the staff of the tribunal had been attacked on several occasions in Lokoja.
“Just last Monday, tribunal officials were attacked on their way to the office. Armed men just pounced on the officials. They robbed them of everything. They took away all the documents that were in the car. Copies of petitions and personal belongings, official receipts, processes like subpoenas, and official stamps were all stolen.
“Generally, thugs are frustrating the job, and the lives of our officials are at stake, making it difficult to work there,” the source said.