The National Industrial Court of Nigeria (NICN) in Ibadan has upheld the dissolution of several statutory commissions in Osun State.
The judgment, which was delivered on the 1st of July, 2025 for OSSIEC and CSC, and 9th July, 2025 for JSC and HASC responded to challenges mounted by the former chairmen and members of the dissolved commissions following their purported abrupt removal by the state governor, Senator Ademola Jackson Nurudeen Adeleke.
Recall that on October 30, 2023, Governor Adeleke approved the immediate dissolution of the State Civil Service Commission (CSC), the Judicial Service Commission (JSC), the Osun State Independent Electoral Commission (OSSIEC), and the Osun State House of Assembly Service Commission (HASC).
The affected officials, comprising 23 claimants, subsequently filed suits against the state government, demanding reinstatement and compensation amounting to approximately 15 million Naira each.
In the court judgment delivered, it was stated that the claims were dismissed based on the preliminary objections raised by the State Government and Osun State House of Assembly, named as the first and fourth respondents respectively in the suits.
The objections highlighted the lack of a mandatory three-month pre-action notice required before legal proceedings could be initiated against the assembly.
“The court has ruled that the claimants failed to provide the necessary pre-action notice, rendering their suits incompetent.”
“This decision reinforces the legal framework governing such appointments and the dissolution process,” argued by Barrister R. D. Ojimi, the Director of Legal Services.
The court also referenced a previous ruling in the case of Kanmi Ajibola v. Governor of Osun State, which declared the appellation “State of Osun” illegal, further solidified the grounds for dismissal.
“The purported letters of appointment issued under the appellation ‘State of Osun’ are, to the extent of the binding effect of the judgment, illegal, null, and void,” the court elaborated.
As a result of the judgment, the claims for reinstatement and compensation made by the former members of the dissolved commissions have been dismissed in their entirety.
