Get Guardian on GoogleThe Collation Officer for the May 18, 2026, All Progressives Congress (APC) senatorial primary election in Benue South, Dr. Peter Sani Ochijele, has petitioned the police over alleged discrepancies in the result presented by one of the aspirants, Hon. Nelson Godwin Onyilokwu Alapa.
Ochijele, through his solicitors, Paul E. Ikwe and Jeremiah O. Adoga, called on the Commissioner of Police, Benue State Command, to investigate the circumstances surrounding the disputed result and the signature attributed to him on the document allegedly presented by Alapa.
In the petition dated September 30, 2026, and addressed to the Commissioner of Police in Makurdi, the collation officer gave an account of the primary election, in which six aspirants reportedly participated.
He said results from the nine local government areas were collated at the senatorial district headquarters at Lux Haven Hotel, Otukpo.
According to him, he collated and announced the results submitted by the nine local government area collation officers, after which the National Assembly Primary Election Collation Officer, Alhaji Sabiu Saidu Mahuta, announced Dr. Francis Ottah Agbo as the winner and returned him elected with 58,760 votes.
The other aspirants recorded the following votes: Hon. Joseph Ojobo, 6,782; Hon. Gabriel Oloche Agidani, 5,246; Hon. Dan Onje, 4,570; Alapa, 4,312; and Hon. Patrick Idoko Ojechema, 2,732.
Ochijele said the results were announced in the presence of party members, security personnel, agents of the aspirants and officials of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), who monitored the exercise.
He further stated that the result sheet was signed by him, while copies were distributed to the aspirants’ agents, INEC and other relevant authorities. Mahuta and his secretary, Dr. Bashir Garba, also signed the result before it was transmitted to the APC.
However, Ochijele said he subsequently became aware of a suit instituted by Alapa at the Federal High Court, Abuja, challenging the outcome of the primary election.
According to the petition, the document presented in the court proceedings contained a different set of results and allegedly indicated that Alapa had been declared the winner by Ochijele.
The collation officer disputed the document, maintaining that his responsibility was to collate and announce the results, while the authority to declare the winner and return him elected rested with Mahuta and his team.
He also questioned the votes attributed to Alapa in the disputed document, which reportedly credited him with 24,788 votes, compared with the 4,312 votes recorded in the result he said was announced at the collation centre.
Ochijele denied signing the disputed result sheet, requesting that the signature attributed to him be subjected to investigation and verification against the original election documents.
His solicitors stated in the petition that their client did not recognise the disputed document as the result of the primary election he supervised.
They said: “Our client wishes to state categorically that the result which Hon. Nelson Godwin Onyilokwu Alapa has paraded in the processes filed in the court purporting himself to be the winner of the Benue South APC Senatorial Primary election did not originate or emanate from the election which our client was the Collation Agent.”
The lawyers further stated that their client denied signing the document and requested an investigation into the signature attributed to him.
Consequently, Ochijele urged the Commissioner of Police to investigate the alleged discrepancies, establish the authenticity of the disputed result sheet and determine whether any irregularities occurred in the preparation or presentation of the document.
He also requested that the police examine the original result announced at the collation centre alongside the document presented in the court proceedings. The petition asked the police to take appropriate action if the investigation established evidence of any criminal wrongdoing.
As of the time of filing this report, the police had not publicly announced any findings on the matter. Alapa’s response to the allegations was also being awaited.
