Reinstated executives of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Osun State have filed a suit against the Federal Government, the Inspector General of Police, and the Osun State Government over the tenure of local council officials.
The officials, elected in October 2022, were initially removed by Governor Ademola Adeleke after a Federal Court nullified their election.
They were, however, reinstated by the Court of Appeal in February 2025. Despite this ruling, members of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) were sworn in following local government elections on February 22, 2025, resulting in both parties claiming control.
Since then, the Nigeria Union of Local Government Employees (NULGE) in Osun went on strike, while federal allocations to local councils were frozen, intensifying the standoff.
In a fresh suit filed at the Federal High Court, Osogbo (Suit No. FHC/OS/CS/147/2025), counsel Muhideen Adeoye, representing Saheed Onibonokuta and seven other APC chairmen, is seeking an extension of their tenure until February 19, 2028.
The defendants in the suit include the Attorney General of the Federation, the Inspector General of Police, the Osun State Governor, the State Attorney General, the Osun State Independent Electoral Commission (OSSIEC), and the Osun State House of Assembly.
The claimants argued that their tenure should start from their inauguration in February 2025, not from October 2022 when they were elected but barred from assuming office.
They also maintained that the February 2025 local government elections were unlawful and infringed on their constitutional right to a full term.
The suit seeks declarations that OSSIEC lacked authority to conduct the elections or swear in new council members while their tenure was subsisting.
All actions by state authorities since February 22, 2025, are described as illegal, unconstitutional, and null.
The APC officials also asked the court to declare that any interpretation by the Attorney General curtailing their tenure to October 2025 is unconstitutional.
They requested directives for the Attorney General and the Inspector General of Police to ensure their continued stay in office until February 2028, and to restrain the Governor, the State Attorney General, the House of Assembly, and OSSIEC from interfering with their tenure.
The claimants warned that any attempt to remove them before their tenure expires would violate due process and their constitutional rights.
The lawsuit adds another chapter to the ongoing local government crisis in Osun, which has seen clashes between the APC, PDP, and the state government since 2022.