The official who supervised the collation of results during the May 18, 2026, All Progressives Congress (APC) senatorial primary in Benue South, Dr. Peter Sani Ochijele, has asked the police to investigate an alleged irregularity involving an election result presented by aspirant Hon. Nelson Godwin Onyilokwu Alapa.
Ochijele, through his lawyers, Paul E. Ikwe and Jeremiah O. Adoga, submitted a petition to the Benue State Commissioner of Police. He wants the authorities to establish the authenticity of a disputed result sheet bearing a signature attributed to him.
In the petition dated September 30, 2026, and addressed to the police commissioner in Makurdi, the collation officer explained how the APC conducted the primary election, which attracted six aspirants.
He said officials collated results from nine local government areas at Lux Haven Hotel in Otukpo, the headquarters of Benue South Senatorial District.
According to Ochijele, he received and collated the results submitted by the nine local government collation officers. The National Assembly Primary Election Collation Officer, Alhaji Sabiu Saidu Mahuta, subsequently announced Dr. Francis Ottah Agbo as the winner with 58,760 votes.
The other contestants recorded the following figures:
- Hon. Joseph Ojobo – 6,782 votes
- Hon. Gabriel Oloche Agidani – 5,246 votes
- Hon. Dan Onje – 4,570 votes
- Hon. Nelson Godwin Onyilokwu Alapa – 4,312 votes
- Hon. Patrick Idoko Ojechema – 2,732 votes
Ochijele maintained that party members, security operatives, representatives of the aspirants and Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) officials witnessed the announcement.
He added that he signed the official result sheet and distributed copies to the aspirants’ representatives, INEC and other relevant authorities. Mahuta and his secretary, Dr. Bashir Garba, also signed the document before officials transmitted it to the APC.
Benue APC Primary: Collation Officer Disputes Court Document
The controversy reportedly emerged after Alapa filed a suit at the Federal High Court in Abuja to challenge the outcome of the election.
Ochijele said he later discovered that the result document submitted during the court proceedings contained different figures. The document allegedly presented Alapa as the winner of the primary election, with 24,788 votes.
However, the collation officer insisted that he never announced such a result. He maintained that Alapa received 4,312 votes in the figures announced at the collation centre.
He also clarified the responsibilities of the election officials, explaining that his assignment involved collating and announcing the results submitted by the local government officers.
According to him, Mahuta and his team had the authority to declare the winner and formally return the successful aspirant elected.
Ochijele further denied signing the disputed result sheet. He asked the police to examine the signature on the document and compare it with his signature on the original election records.
His lawyers also maintained that their client did not recognise the document presented by Alapa as the authentic result of the primary election he supervised.
They stated that the disputed document did not originate from the election exercise conducted under their client’s supervision.
Lawyers Request Investigation Into Alleged Result Alteration
In their petition, the solicitors urged the police to investigate the alleged discrepancies and establish how the disputed document emerged.
They specifically requested a comparison between the original result announced at the collation centre and the document presented during the court proceedings.
The lawyers also asked investigators to verify the signature attributed to Ochijele and determine whether anyone committed an offence while preparing or presenting the disputed result.
The petition further urged the police to take appropriate action if their investigation uncovered evidence of criminal wrongdoing.
As of the time of filing this report, the Benue State Police Command had not publicly disclosed any findings concerning the complaint. Alapa had also yet to respond publicly to the allegations.
The outcome of the investigation could help establish the authenticity of the two conflicting election documents.