Osun LG Crisis: Group Petitions AGF, Protests Violation Of Court Judgment

An aggrieved group on Tuesday staged a peaceful protest at the Ministry of Justice and the Ministry of Finance against what they called disregard for court judgments regarding Osun State local government.

Led by the National Coordinator of the Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria (HURIWA), Comrade Emmanuel Onwubiko, the group submitted formal petitions to both ministries, accusing some officials of the All Progressives Congress (APC) of illegally occupying local government council secretariats across Osun State in defiance of binding court rulings.

“Today, we gather here to peacefully protest the blatant disregard for court judgments and the rule of law in Osun State,” said Onwubiko during the demonstration.

“We, the Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria, are deeply concerned about the actions of APC officials who are still occupying the local government secretariats despite multiple court decisions removing them from office.”

The crisis stems from the controversial local government elections held on October 15, 2022, which were later challenged in court.

Onwubiko cited multiple court decisions that he said clearly invalidated the elections and removed the APC chairmen and councillors.

He referenced the Federal High Court judgment of November 30, 2022, in Suit No: FHC/OS/CS/103/22, which, according to him, unequivocally sacked the APC officials.

“All attempts to relitigate or overturn that judgment have failed,” Onwubiko stated.

“The Court of Appeal dismissed the APC’s appeal on January 13, 2025, for lack of diligent prosecution and again rejected their application for relisting on June 13, 2025.”

He also addressed confusion surrounding the Court of Appeal ruling of February 10, 2025, in Appeal No: CA/AK/270/2022, which APC members have allegedly misrepresented as a reinstatement order.

“The court struck out the PDP’s suit on procedural grounds and described the issue as academic,” he explained.

“It never ruled in favour of reinstating the sacked APC officials. Any claims to the contrary are deliberate attempts to mislead the Chief Law Officer of the Federation and other authorities.”

The group urged the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi, to immediately enforce the court rulings and direct law enforcement agencies to vacate “illegal occupiers” from the council secretariats.

“We urge the Minister of Justice to give full effect to the valid Federal High Court judgment of November 30, 2022,” Onwubiko said.

“We also request that the minister issue directives to the Inspector-General of Police and other security agencies to remove all illegal occupiers from the LG council secretariats.”

In addition to the Ministry of Justice, HURIWA also petitioned the Ministry of Finance, stressing the financial implications of what they described as an unconstitutional occupation of public offices.

The group urged “the Minister of Finance to take note of the financial implications of these actions and ensure that funds are not allocated to illegal occupiers of local government council secretariats across Osun State.

“Instead, we request that the minister allocate funds to the PDP chairmen and councillors who were duly elected on February 22, 2025, pursuant to the valid OSSIEC notice of February 19, 2024, and in accordance with the Electoral Act 2022.

“This action will help to uphold the Constitution, the rule of law, and democratic governance. It will also prevent further erosion of public confidence in the legal and democratic process.

“We believe that it is essential to ensure that funds are allocated in a manner that respects the rule of law and democratic principles.

“The APC’s actions are a clear disregard for the court judgments and the democratic process. They are attempting to cling to power despite being sacked by the courts.

“This is a recipe for chaos and instability, and we urge the Minister of Finance to take swift action to prevent further crisis.”

The group demanded “that the government recognise and provide full financial backing to the PDP Chairmen and Councillors who were duly elected on February 22, 2025.

“We also urge the Minister of Finance to work closely with the Minister of Justice to ensure that the financial implications of the court judgments are given effect.

“We demand that the government allocate funds to the PDP Chairmen and Councillors who were duly elected on February 22, 2025, and not to the illegal occupiers.”

The protesters stressed that “the allocation of funds to the illegal occupiers would be a clear disregard for the court judgments and the democratic process.

“It would also be a waste of public funds and a breach of the public trust. We urge the Minister of Finance to take a principled stance and ensure that the funds are allocated in a manner that respects the rule of law and democratic principles.”

Osun LG Crisis: Group Petitions AGF, Protests Violation Of Court Judgment is first published on The Whistler Newspaper