14 Facts Nigerians Need To Know And Four Questions Nigerians Need To Ask The APC About The Osun LG Matter

By Comr. Olayiwola Adekunle Da’Peace

I have listened to and watched various arguments on the Osun State local government legal matter over the week, and I think Nigerians, especially the neutrals and lovers of true democracy deserve to know the facts of the cases and court judgments involved with respect to the actions of the concerned parties.

1. The Federal High Court Osogbo in two different Judgments involving the (PDP v. APC, OSSIEC & others) and (APP v. APC, OSSIEC & others) nullified the Notice of election, set aside the election, Sacked the APC YES/NO council Chairmen and Councilors before the Governor was sworn in.
2. Both Judgments were appealed separately by the APC at the Court of Appeal Akure. This shows that the two cases were attended to and the Judgments were delivered separately and not jointly.
3. APC deliberately abandoned their appeal against APP and chose to pursue that of the PDP for the reason best known to them.
4. The Court of Appeal on 13th January 2025 delivered their ruling and dismissed the APC appeal against the APP for want of prosecution, affirming the judgment of the Federal High Court Osogbo, which sacked the APC council Chairmen and Councilors.
5. The Court of Appeal on 10th February 2025 delivered their ruling on APC’s appeal against the PDP and considered issues 1&2 out of the four issues formulated by the APC, the issues were as to whether the Federal High Court, Osogbo had as at the time the case was filed, the jurisdiction to hear and determine the case. The Court of Appeal resolved that there was no cause of action as at the time the case was filed by PDP and therefore, the Federal High Court lacked the jurisdiction to hear it. Issues 1&2 were therefore granted and struck out the case. The Court of Appeal held couldn’t go ahead to consider the remaining issues 3& 4 which had to do with the validity of the Local Government Election and sacking of the YES/NO Chairmen and Councilors, having earlier struck out the case and described doing so as an Academic Exercise which Milords were not ready to go into. This is against the position of the APC, the judgment never talked about any reinstatement; the court only described the prayers of the APC’s appeal as an academic exercise.
6. APC chose to cause mayhem in the state using the judgment of the Court of Appeal against the PDP to force their way into the Local Government Council Secretariat across the State with the support of thugs who unleashed terror on the people that resulted into several killings and injuries across the state.
7. In all the two judgments of the Court of Appeal, none restrained the OSSIEC from conducting the election.
8. On 20th February 2025, AGF only advised the Osun State Government to cancel the election, citing the Court of Appeal judgment of APC against the PDP and deliberately turned deaf ears to the judgment of the Appeal Court in the case of APC v. APP which was dismissed and favors the APP for want of prosecution
9. On 21st of February 2025, the PDP who had earlier gone to Osun State High Court Ilesha to seek the interpretation of the Court of Appeal Judgment in the case of APC v. PDP and that of APC v. APP to know if any of the judgments had restrained the OSSIEC from conducting the election, got a court order that compelled the OSSIEC to proceed with the conduct of the election. The court also ordered all security agencies to provide security for the election.
10. In reaction to the order of the Osun State High Court, Ilesha which stated that there was vacancy in the 30 local government areas of the state as held by the judgment of the Federal High Court Osogbo, compelled OSSIEC to proceed with the conduct of the Election with the security agencies to provide security for the process, the Osun State Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice having been served the court order, made the position of the Osun State Government known that it was ready to comply with the order and proceed with the conduct of the election known through a World press conference on the same 21st of February, 2025.
11. Two hours before the election at about 10:10 PM on the 21st of February 2025, the Nigerian Police Force, through their FPRO, also advised that the Osun Local Government Election should not hold, giving a purported security intelligence report as a reason.
12. On the 22nd of February 2025, OSSIEC conducted the election in a very peaceful atmosphere across the state, and winners of the election emerged in obedience to the court order and in accordance with the established laws of the land and the 2022 Electoral Act (As Amended.)
13. On 23rd February 2025, Governor Ademola Adeleke, the Executive Governor of Osun State, swore in the 30 Elected Council Chairmen and Vice-Chairmen who subsequently swore in their Ward Councilors.
14. The Governor directed the newly elected Chairmen to stay away from the Council Secretariat to maintain peace and avoid the YES/NO APC Chairmen who had broken Council doors to force their way in and were ready to kill as many as possible to make the state look insecure.

Having listed these facts, the questions Nigerians should ask the APC and their legal advisers are:

1. How will the APP benefit from the Appeal Court judgment that favors them if a new election is not conducted?
2. Why is everybody in the APC, including the AGF not talking about that APP judgment of the Court of Appeal? Or, is the APP and its members not Nigerians like the APC or any other political party members?
3. Without conceding, if we have to go by the argument of the APC and their actions, is breaking doors to the council Secretariat the best way to enforce a court order?

If No, why do they want the Governor who had earlier raised the alarm in a world press conference on the plans of the APC to cause unrest in the state to take responsibility for the bad scenario when the security agencies have failed to discharge their lawful duties to secure people’s lives and properties.

4. If every party in the case of APP v. APC is not bound by the Court of Appeal judgment of 13th January 2025 which affirms the judgment of Federal High Court Osogbo that sacked the APC YES/NO council Chairmen and Councilors, why did APC return to the Court of Appeal seeking the court to re-list the case they had earlier dismissed for want of prosecution?

The fact speaks for itself and if the Osun APC truly has an order from the court that reinstates them back to the Local Council Secretariat, they should go back to the court to seek an order to enforce such court order and not result to self-help and taking action capable of truncating the peace of entire state.

Comr. Olayiwola Adekunle Babatunde Da’Peace is my name, I write from Odeomu Ayedaade LG of Osun State.