EXPOSED! REAL MOTIVE ALIA & TOR TIV WANT TO GIVE SUSWAM CHIEFTAINCY TITLE
…The duo trying to save Suswam from going to jail
The Tor Tiv, Professor James Ayatse and his partner in bad ways, Governor Hyacinth Alia have concluded arrangements to bestow on their tag team member, Senator Gabriel Suswam an honorific chieftancy title on the 13th of December 2025 at an elaborate ceremony in Gboko, the ancestral headquarters of Tivland.
But beyond the surface celebration lies the real motive. Senator Suswam is on his way to jail. The case of the embezzled N3.1 billion which the EFCC instituted against him at the Federal High Court does not look good for Suswam. He has done everything to pervert the course of justice by attempting to compromise the justices handling the matter, but he has failed. His partner in crime and illicit affairs, Governor Alia with their royal friend Tor Tiv Ayatse have desperately sought every means possible to get Suswam off the hook but the more they try, the worse the situation of their partner gets. Alia tried on a number of occasions to take Suswam to meet with President Tinubu but he failed.
The three men therefore met recently and devised a last minute plan to organize a state-sponsored event in honour of Suswam where top Nigerians including those close to President Bola Tinubu will be in attendance. During the event, Suswam will be portrayed as an illustrious son of Tiv land and Benue State in general who is loved by his people. The plan is to appeal to the compassion of the justices handling his case and also appeal to the President to intervene and give Suswam a soft landing (what is called plea bargain).
Forget the other names that you might have seen on the list of honorees at the planned Gboko event. The ceremony is purely organized for Suswam. The likes of Chief Mike Aondoakaa and Prof. Sabastine Hon were only brought in to give the impression that the occasion will be apolitical and is for all.
Alia’s illiterate voodoo man Moses Ternenge who was the first to take Tor Tiv Ayatse to meet with the family of the late Sani Abacha is also on the list of those to be given chieftaincy titles. Now you need not be told what is going on. Ayatse and Ternenge are from the same community of Shangev-ya in Kwande local government area of Benue State.
Governor Alia has released about N2 billion for the ceremony including what is needed to take care of additional lobbying to get Suswam off the hook in Abuja, and he is ready to dole out more money to ensure that his partner Suswam and his juju man Ternenge are honoured elaborately by the Tiv Traditional Council.
Ayatse has desecrated the Tor Tiv throne with his greed and desperation for power and more money. On the 8th of November 2025, at the Ijirtamen (the highest Tiv Traditional Council) sitting in Gboko, Tor Tiv Ayatse, compelled Tiv traditional rulers to endorse Governor Alia for a second term in 2027.
The action, by all standards, represented a flagrant violation of the Benue State Chieftaincy Law, which expressly forbids traditional rulers from engaging in partisan politics. Governor Alia gave Ayatse over N200 million to purchase the endorsement.
It is deeply disturbing that the paramount ruler of the Tiv nation, who should epitomize fairness, restraint, and wisdom, has instead chosen to descend into the murky waters of politics, using his revered throne to advance partisan interests.
The other time, during a church service in Kwande, Ayatse openly boasted that he and others would work against any candidate who dares to challenge Governor Alia in 2027.
We condemn Ayatse’s continuous use of his position to lobby for his political partners. The throne of our forefathers is not a political platform. It is a sacred institution, the custodian of our heritage, culture, and collective conscience. The current Tor Tiv is compromising the sanctity of his office and betraying the confidence reposed in him by his people.
Signed,
Moses Kwaghgba
Secretary General, Alliance for Truth and Justice (ATJ)
