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What Manner of COVID-19 Does ‘Benue Index Case’, Susan Okpe Has?
By Eric Elezuo
On March 28, 2020, the Benue State government announced its first case of Coronavirus, mentioning in a well attended press conference that one Mrs Susan Okpe, a returnee from England, had tested positive for the dreaded disease. The announcement was made by the state’s number one citizen, Mr. Samuel Otorm, in total adherence to Section 26 (2) (e) of the National Health Act, 2014, according his Chief Press Secretary during a much later statement.
“It is the constitutional duty of the governor to ensure the safety and wellbeing of his people. Section 26 (2) (e) of the National Health Act, 2014 gives the government the powers to disclose information relating to a person if ‘non-disclosure of the information represents a serious threat to public health,” he said.
However, storms started to brew shortly afterwards with Mrs Okpe, who admitted that he returned from England to attend her mother’s funeral, saying she was not sick, and could not in anyway with COVID-19 positive. She stated that she had sought medical attention on arrival as a result of pains occasioned by jet lag; the same according to her was promptly attended to, and she was alright.
But the last was not heard of it as the Benue State government insisted that she was positive and therefore a threat to public health. The woman maintained otherwise, and followed it up with refusal to take any form of treatment. But how did the drama started? The governor’s CPS said in part:
“After the Deputy Governor, Benson Abounu led a team of medical experts to counsel Mrs. Okpe and explained to her why she had to be moved to the Benue State University Teaching Hospital, BSUTH, it was only proper that the people were informed that there was an index case in the state. This is precisely what the Governor did.”
Mrs. Okpe, who insisted she was not sick, was moved to the isolation and treatment centre at Benue State University Teaching Hospital, BSUTH, after much persuasion by the chairman of the committee and Benue State Deputy Governor, Mr. Benson Abounu. But refusing to accept any drugs, it was reported that the Nigeria centre for Disease Control (NCDC) ordered that she be moved to Abuja. She was moved to Abuja on April 4, 2020, about seven days after she was isolated.
Okpe blatantly refused to cooperated with the medical team, maintaining that she was neither sick nor COVID-19 positive and was being unjustly been held. This led her to making a two and half minutes video recording asking the federal government to release her from “incarceration.” Below is the transcription of the video:
“Hi, everybody, this is Susan Idoko Okpe, née Lawani. I am pleading with everybody to please tell Nigerian government to let me go. This is my 16th day of incarceration. What have I done, what have I done? Benue state lied on me that I have COVID-19. I just got the result yesterday after 15 days and the result is a stage play with different date birthdays, different recordings which they themselves know and trying to put right.”
As if that wasn’t enough, another of Okpe’s video emerged a few days ago where she maintained that she was still being held against her will. And reiterating Okpe’s story, the House of Representatives has urged the NCDC to intervene in the matter to hasten the discharge of the woman, whose stay in isolation has exceeded 50 gays.
The House reasoned that “The details of this Mrs. Susan ldoko-Okpe Nee Lawani is not consistent with that of the lady who was referred from Benue State Teaching Hospital, Makurdi, to Gwagwalada Specialist Hospital, Abuja.
“The personal information on the laboratory result from the NCDC did not also tally with her personal details.”
So is this a case of mistaken identity? When would the mistake be realised and the needful be done? Again, is the Coronairus no longer on 14 days gestation period as the woman has spent almost four times the number.
While not only the NCDC should wade into the matter, the Federal Government must as a matter of urgency set up a panel of enquiry to report back within a time not more than two days to find out certain mysteries including why Okpe’s name had to be announced in the public domain even as her status was still being ascertained. It is on record that no COVID-19 patient’s name has ever been made public without their consent. Why was Okpe’s case different?
Time is now to unravel the intricacies behind the 56 year-old woman’s dilemma, and have discharged and bring to book whoever may be involved in her predicament no matter how highly placed.
The Edo Governorship Election Petitions Tribunal sitting in Abuja, on Wednesday, affirmed Senator Monday Okpebholo as the governor.
A three-member panel headed by Justice Wilfred Kpochi, dismissed the petition filed by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and its candidate, Asue Ighodalo, against the outcome of the September 21, 2024, governorship election.
In its judgment, the panel ruled that the petitioners failed to call competent witnesses to prove the allegations of non-compliance with the Electoral Act.
In the lead judgment read by Justice Wilfred Kpochi, the Tribunal said non-compliance must be proven convincingly. It noted that the failure of the petitioners to call polling unit officers, presiding officers or even voters during the election proved fatal to their petition.
The Tribunal stated that most of the 19 witnesses called by the PDP merely gave hearsay evidence during the proceedings.
Justice Kpochi faulted what he termed as the PDP’s reliance on Section 137 of the Electoral Act to dump documents on the Tribunal. The Tribunal noted that it’s not for it to scrutinise documents tendered by the petitioners.
The Edo Tribunal further said the BVAS machines tendered by the petitioners remain dormant, as it’s not the duty of the Tribunal to access the data in the machines.
In the unanimous decision, the Tribunal thereby restated that to prove overvoting as alleged by Ighodalo and the PDP, there’s a need to tender the voters register, BVAS machines and polling unit results or Forms EC8A.
Following that, the Tribunal dismissed the petition of Asue Ighodalo, candidate of PDP for lacking merit.
INEC had declared that Okpebholo of the APC secured 291,667 votes to defeat Ighodalo who got 247,655 votes. PDP approached the Tribunal to challenge the results from 765 polling units of the 4,519 units in Edo State.
The PDP candidate faulted the outcome of the election on the grounds of non-compliance with the Electoral Act and the failure of Monday Okphebholo to secure a majority of the lawful votes cast. Putting that in context, the PDP governorship candidate alleged improper computation of votes by INEC, non-serialisation of electoral materials and over-voting.
The Edo State Governorship Election Petition Tribunal, sitting in Abuja, has
scheduled Wednesday, April 2, 2025, to deliver its judgment on the petition filed by Asue Ighodalo of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) challenging the victory of Governor Monday Okpebholo in the September 21, 2024, gubernatorial election.
A three-member panel, led by Justice Wilfred Kpochi, reserved judgment on March 3 after parties in the suit concluded their final arguments.
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) had on September 22 declared Okpebholo of the All Progressives Congress (APC) winner of the election with 291,667 votes, defeating Ighodalo, who polled 247,274 votes, and Labour Party’s Olumide Akpata, who garnered 22,763 votes.
Dissatisfied with the outcome, the PDP and its candidate approached the tribunal, alleging widespread irregularities, including
over-voting, ballot serialisation issues, errors in collation, and miscalculations in results.
In the suit marked EPT/ED/GOV/02/2024,
Ighodalo presented a senior technical officer from INEC’s ICT department as a witness, who tendered 154 BVAS machines as evidence to substantiate claims of
over-voting.
Adopting his final address, Ighodalo further alleged that results from 765 polling units were manipulated at the collation centers and that errors in computation affected the final outcome.
He urged the tribunal to nullify the Certificate of Return issued to Okpebholo and declare him the rightful winner of the election.
A Federal High Court in Port Harcourt has summoned President Bola Tinubu and Rivers State Administrator, Vice Admiral Ibok-Ete Ibas, over the emergency rule declaration in the oil-rich State.
The summons follows a lawsuit filed by the Incorporated Trustees of Peoples Life Improvement Foundation, alongside individuals Precious Elekima and Inanna Wright Harry, challenging the legality of the emergency rule imposed on the state.
Also listed as defendants in the suit are Senate President Godswill Akpabio, Speaker of the House of Representatives Tajudeen Abbas, the National Assembly, Attorney General of the Federation Lateef Fagbemi, the Revenue Mobilisation, Allocation and Fiscal Commission, and the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).
President Tinubu, on March 18, 2025, declared a state of emergency in Rivers, suspending both the executive and legislative arms of government and appointing retired naval officer Vice Admiral Ibok-Ete Ibas as administrator.
In suit number FHC/PH/CS/45/2025, the plaintiffs are seeking judicial interpretation on whether the emergency declaration aligns with constitutional provisions, arguing that it is unconstitutional, null, and void.
They contend that it violates Article 13 of the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights (Ratification and Enforcement Act) and Section 305(3)(b) of the Nigerian Constitution, which outlines the conditions under which a state of emergency can be declared.
The plaintiffs have urged the court to restrain the Rivers State Administrator from appointing caretaker committees for the 23 local government councils, forming a state executive council, or making financial transactions from the state treasury.
Additionally, they are seeking an order for the immediate reinstatement of the suspended executive and legislative arms of government in the state.
Meanwhile, the court has given the defendants 30 days to respond to the summons.
