THE Attorney General of the Federation (AGF) and Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi, a senior advocate, has warned Osun State Governor, Ademola Adeleke, against proceeding with Saturday, February 21, local government election in the state.
The AGF told Adeleke to ask the Osun State Independent Electoral Commission (OSIEC) to suspend the election.
In a statement signed by the AGF on Thursday, February 20, he warned that conducting a new local government poll would be invalid and unconstitutional.
This, according to him, is because the Court of Appeal, Akure Division, recently ruled that the tenure of the purportedly sacked council chairpersons was still running.
The AGF stated that his attention was drawn to Adeleke’s public outcry regarding the Court of Appeal’s judgment in Akure.
He said the judgment, delivered on February 10, 2025, in Appeal No. CA/AK/272/2022, nullified the Federal High Court’s judgment in Osogbo, which was delivered on November 25, 2022, in favour of the state government.
“It has become necessary to issue this public notice to remove doubts, fears, and uncertainties created by misrepresentations and disinformation concerning the legal effect of the judgment of the Court of Appeal,” the AGF stated.
Fagbemi explained that the controversy surrounding the local government elections in Osun State began during the tenure of former Governor Adegboyega Oyetola. He said elections were held in all local governments in the state, and the winners were sworn in.
Fagbemi recalled that just before Adeleke’s swearing-in, the Federal High Court in Osogbo nullified the poll that brought the chairpersons into office.
He added that in response, Adeleke issued an executive order to remove the elected officials and replaced them with caretaker appointees shortly after assuming office.
He said this move was met with resistance from the APC, which appealed the judgment before the Court of Appeal.
The AGF noted that by this decision, the judgment of the Court of Appeal has, by implication, effectively restored the elected local government officials removed by the Federal High Court to their offices.
Fagbemi said the crisis in Osun State erupted when some disgruntled elements resisted the attempt by the officials to resume their positions.
According to the AGF, Adeleke should have maintained law and order in the state rather than allowing the situation to escalate into a crisis.
The ICIR reported that seven people reportedly died as APC supporters and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) clashed in the state on Monday, February 17.
According to reports, the crisis led to the death of a former chairman of the Irewole Local Government Area, Aderemi Abbas, and others.
Adeleke had raised concerns on Sunday, February 16, about a plan by the Minister of Marine and Blue Economy, Gboyega Oyetola, and certain security agency heads to enforce the Appeal Court’s ruling and urged the public to hold them accountable for any violence that arose after the action.
A reporter with the ICIR
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