There was a dramatic twist on Friday in the controversy over Saturday’s local council poll in Osun as a State High Court sitting in Ilesa ordered the Osun State Independent Electoral Commission (OSSIEC) to proceed with elections for the positions of council chairmen and councillors in all 30 local government areas and the area office.
The court, presided over by Justice A.A. Aderibigbe, granted the order following a motion on notice brought before it by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), one of the political parties participating in the election.
Listed as defendants in suit No. HIL/M.19/2025 are OSSIEC and its chairman, Hashim Abioye.
The court held that “the election conducted by the 1st defendant on 15th October 2022, having been invalidated, nullified, and voided, and the purported elected officials produced by the purported election having been sacked by the Federal High Court in FHC/CS/OS/103/2022; ACTION PEOPLES PARTY (APP) VS. INDEPENDENT NATIONAL ELECTORAL COMMISSION (INEC) & Ors, delivered on 30th November 2022, and as confirmed by the decision of the Court of Appeal in Appeal No: CA/AK/226M/2024; ALLIED PEOPLE MOVEMENT (APM) & Ors VS. ACTION PEOPLES PARTY (APP) & Ors, delivered on 13th January 2025, vacancy actually exists in the political administration of local councils in the state, thereby consequently upholding the prayers of the PDP in the suit.”
The copy of the court order obtained by The Guardian reads further, “Consequently, the court granted the prayers of the claimant, seeking an order of the court directing, mandating, and compelling the defendants to fill the vacancies across the 30 local government areas of Osun State through a democratic process by proceeding to conduct the local government elections already scheduled by the defendants for 22nd February 2025.”
The court also directed and compelled all security agencies, including the Nigeria Police, the Nigerian Army, the Department of State Security Services (DSS), the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), the Amotekun Corps, the Vigilante Group, etc., in the state to provide adequate security during and after the election.
Justice Aderibigbe declared, “I have gone through the originating processes filed by the claimant. I have also gone through the response filed by the defendants to this suit, which is essentially an admission of the claimant’s case.
“The gravamen of the claimant’s case is that the defendants should not postpone the conduct of the local government elections in Osun State, which have been scheduled by the defendants to take place on Saturday, 22/02/2025, by amending the Notice of Election already issued on 22/07/2024, as the defendants are planning to do.
“The claimant contends that, in view of the judgment in suit No: FHC/OS/CS/103/2022, Action Peoples Party (APP) vs. INEC & Ors., in which the election held by the 2nd defendant was nullified by the Federal High Court in its judgment delivered on 30/11/2022, which judgment was affirmed by the Court of Appeal, Akure, in Appeal No: CA/AK/226/2024 Allied People Movement & Ors vs. Action Peoples Party (APP) & Ors, when the appeal against the Federal High Court judgment was dismissed on 13/01/2025, there is no hindrance to the conduct of the election fixed for Saturday, 22/02/2025. These two judgments were attached as Exhibits 2 and 3.
“I have carefully perused the two judgments, and I agree with the position of the claimant’s counsel that there is no impediment to the election fixed by the defendant for Saturday, 22/02/2025. The judgment of the Federal High Court, which nullified the notice of election issued by OSSIEC on 15/08/2025 and the election held on 15/10/2022, and was upheld by the Court of Appeal on 13/01/2025, is still subsisting until it is set aside by the Supreme Court.”
As a result, the claimant’s claim succeeds, and the following reliefs and orders are granted by this court:
1. AN ORDER OF THIS HONOURABLE COURT is granted, recognising the existing vacancies across all 30 local government areas of Osun State, the election conducted by the 1st defendant on 15th October 2022, having been invalidated, nullified, and voided, and the purported elected officials produced by the purported election having been sacked by the Federal High Court in FHC/CS/OS/103/2022; Action Peoples Party (APP) vs. Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) & Ors., delivered on 30th November 2022, and as confirmed by the decision of the Court of Appeal in Appeal No. CA/AK/226M/2024, Allied People Movement (APM) & Ors vs. Action Peoples Party (APP) & Ors., delivered on 13th January 2025.
2. AN ORDER OF THIS HONOURABLE COURT is granted, directing, mandating, and compelling the defendants to fill the vacancies across the 30 local government areas of Osun State through a democratic process by proceeding to conduct the local government elections already scheduled by the defendants for 22nd February 2025.
3. AN ORDER OF THIS HONOURABLE COURT is granted, directing, mandating, and compelling all security agencies, including the Nigeria Police, the Nigerian Army, the Department of State Security Services (DSS), the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), the Amotekun Corps, the Vigilante Groups, etc., to provide adequate security and maintain peace and order before, during, and after the local government election scheduled by the defendants for 22nd February 2025.