The Benue Equity and Justice Movement has said that the case of the former Minister and Attorney General of the Federation, Mike Aondoakaa, is a litmus test for the Nigerian Judiciary, warning that any perception of compromise would undermine public confidence in the Judiciary as the last succour for the common man.

The group made this known in a statement made available to journalists in which it raised concerns about the planned November 16 judgment in the eligibility suit involving the Benue Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) governorship candidate, Mike Aondoakaa.

In the statement signed by Kingsley Asema, its General Secretary, the group called on the Chief Judge of the Federal High Court, Abuja, as well as the Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), to ensure transparency and to safeguard the integrity of the process leading to the judgment.

The group said the case has attracted wide public attention in Benue State and beyond, and urged the Judiciary to handle it in a manner that would strengthen, not weaken, confidence in the courts.

The concerns raised by the group are coming against the background of the Supreme Court judgment of December 10, 2021, which affirmed the judgment of the Court of Appeal, Calabar Division, upholding a Federal High Court decision barring the former minister, who served as Attorney General of the Federation under the late President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua, from occupying any public office in Nigeria for life.

Justice Kudirat Kekere-Ekun, then a Justice of the Supreme Court and now the CJN, had delivered the Supreme Court’s unanimous judgment, affirming that Aondoakaa undermined and subverted the rule of law, due administration of justice and integrity of the judiciary in letters of 8th January, 2008 and 16th February, 2009 written by him as Attorney General.

In the Court of Appeal’s judgment on June 1, 2010, Justice A.F.A. Ademola had also declared that the 2nd Defendant is not a competent, fit and proper person to hold office as the 1st Defendant, having regard to the oaths of allegiance and office.

It will be recalled that the 2027 governorship candidate of the Allied People’s Movement, Damian Adagba, had in September asked the court to compel the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to remove Aondoakaa’s name from its official portal as the governorship candidate of the PDP, as a result of the Supreme Court judgment.

Also, in a suit marked FHC/ABJ/CS/2152/2026, instituted by David Ejembi, Aondoaver Teryila, Joseph Okpanachi and Benedict Akaazua Orkume against INEC, the PDP and Aondoakaa, the plaintiffs urged the Federal High Court in Abuja in October to stop the former AGF from parading himself as the governorship candidate of the PDP.

Following arguments by lawyers of the PDP, Aondoakaa and the plaintiffs, the court adjourned the matter to November 16, 2026, for judgment.

The Benue Equity and Justice Movement said it would continue to follow the proceedings closely and urged all parties to respect the eventual decision of the court.

As at the time of filing this report, Aondoakaa had not yet responded to the group’s statement. Efforts to get his reaction were still ongoing, and it will be published when received.