By [Olusegun Ogunkayode]
Osogbo, January 5, 2026
The Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Osun State, Sooko Tajudeen Lawal, on Monday accused the Accord/PDP-led Osun State Government of deliberately abusing judicial processes to intimidate elected local government officials and destabilise governance across the state.
Addressing a press conference at the APC State Secretariat, Ogo-Oluwa Area, Osogbo, Lawal alleged that the state government has, since February 2025, sponsored multiple lawsuits across different courts and jurisdictions in a calculated attempt to frustrate the enforcement of valid court judgments that reinstated APC-elected local government chairmen and councillors.
Lawal recalled that on February 10, 2025, the Court of Appeal nullified the judgment that had earlier sacked elected APC local government officials across Osun State. According to him, the ruling was never appealed by the state government, making it final and binding.
He noted that the reinstated chairmen and councillors resumed office on February 17, 2025, but the state government allegedly refused to respect the judgment, claiming the existence of a “sister case” at a lower court.
“Every counsel and patriotic appeal made to the state government to obey the Court of Appeal judgment was ignored,” Lawal said.
The APC chairman further alleged that the refusal to obey the judgment culminated in violent attacks on the reinstated officials on the very day they resumed office, an incident that led to the killing of the late Hon. Remi Abbas, a local government chairman.
He also accused the Osun State chapter of the Nigeria Union of Local Government Employees (NULGE) of collaborating with the then PDP-led state government to shut down local government offices by coercing workers to stay away from work.
Lawal described the February 22, 2025 local government elections conducted by the state government as a “ruse,” arguing that the process was based on a five-month notice and lacked legal foundation. He confirmed that the APC had challenged the exercise in court, where the matter remains pending.
He alleged that the state government subsequently initiated several lawsuits across different courts, including the Federal High Court, State High Courts, and even courts outside Osun State, all on the same subject matter already settled by the Court of Appeal.
Particularly troubling, Lawal said, was a judgment delivered by a High Court judge in Osun State on February 21, 2025, who allegedly interpreted the Court of Appeal decision and ordered fresh elections within 48 hours, without joining all affected parties.
“The APC did not resort to violence. Instead, we approached the court to set aside that judgment and petitioned the National Judicial Council (NJC),” he said, adding that despite acknowledgment of receipt by the NJC, no feedback has been received to date.
Lawal noted that on December 5, 2025, the Supreme Court, in Suit No. SC/CV/773/2025, struck out a suit filed by the Osun State Government on the same local government issue, thereby affirming the subsisting judgment of the Court of Appeal delivered on February 10, 2025.
Quoting from the Supreme Court ruling delivered by Justice Moore Aseimo Abraham Adumein, Lawal said the apex court rejected attempts by the state government to rely on judgments in which it was not a party and cautioned against speculative interpretations of court decisions.
He stressed that the Court decision effectively nullified any legal basis for the February 22, 2025 local government elections and confirmed the legitimacy of the reinstated APC chairmen and councillors.
Despite the Supreme Court ruling, Lawal alleged that the Osun State Government has continued to file new cases, including fresh actions at the Federal High Court and Magistrate Court, in what he described as “a belligerent refusal to submit to the rule of law.”
He also accused the state government of engaging in a media campaign to blackmail federal authorities, including the President, the Attorney-General of the Federation, and security agencies, over alleged withholding of local government funds.
The APC chairman appealed to the National Judicial Council to urgently act on the petitions submitted against judges accused of assuming jurisdiction unlawfully and granting interim orders on already settled matters.
“We seek only the preservation of the sanctity of the rule of law so that citizens are not pushed towards violence and lawlessness,” Lawal said.
He further put the entire judiciary on notice regarding the true legal position of the Osun local government crisis, urging courts at all levels to resist being misled into issuing conflicting or illegal orders.
Lawal expressed appreciation to security agencies, the judiciary, and the media for what he described as professionalism and adherence to the rule of law amid what he called “avoidable legal crises.”
He also thanked the people of Osun State for remaining peaceful and committed to democratic principles despite provocations.
“We remain hopeful that the rule of law will reign supreme in Osun State,” he concluded.
“May the rule of law reign in Osun State.”
