Professor of Practice and learned Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), Chief Sebastine Hon, is leading three other SANs, including Chief Eward Ashiekaa, Douglas Pepe, and T.J. Aondo, in defence of Prof. Zacharys Gundu, leader of the Tiv professionals, against the Nasarawa State Government and Governor Abdullahi Sule.
The list of Counsel also includes 46 senior and junior lawyers.
It is understood that Prof. Hon, SAN, filed the Memorandum of Conditional Appearance on October 10, 2025, in the Registry of the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Abuja Judicial Division.
The suit is marked as FCT/HC/CV/3554/2025, with Prof. Gundu as the lone defendant.
Nasarawa State Government and Engr. Abdullahi Sule, Executive Governor of the state (Claimants/Applicants), has sued Prof. Gundu, who has sued Prof. Gundu, over his comments of July 10 during a town hall meeting by News Central TV, are claiming One Hundred Billion, Five Hundred Million Naira (N100.5b) in damages and cost of litigation.
On July 10, 2025, during a town hall meeting by News Central TV, Prof. Gundu, speaking on behalf of Tiv professionals, accused Governor Sule of providing a safe haven, refuge, and taking the lands of his citizens and giving them to foreign “Fulani” terrorists. Other commentators have also labelled the North Central State as “axis of evil,” with the renaming of the cargo airport in the state to Ithman Danfodio Cargo Airport, further raising eyebrows
Governor Sule, who considered the comments offensive, had demanded a retraction and an apology; failure to do so, he indicated, would result in seeking redress in court. Prof. Gundu called his bluff, asking the Nasarawa State Governor to go to court.
Many professional groups and organisations, including the Mzehemen U Tiv Foundation (MUTF), have expressed solidarity with Prof. Gundu, stating that they will not remain passive while he is dragged through the courts for defending his community.
With Prof. Hon, SAN, and his friends entering the Memorandum of Conditional Appearance, the stage is set for the legal fireworks to begin.
