An Osun State High Court, sitting in Ilesa, has ordered the Osun State Independent Electoral Commission (OSSIEC) to conduct the state’s local government election slated for Saturday, February 22nd.
Naijaonpoint reports that Justice A. A. Aderibigbe, who gave the ruling on Friday, also declared the positions of chairmen, vice chairmen and councillors in the state’s 30 local governments vacant.
The Court gave the ruling in favour of the claimant, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). Defendants in the case include the Osun State Independent Electoral Commission and its chairman, Hashim Akintunde Abioye.
It read: “An order of this honourable court is granted, recognizing the existing vacancies across all the 30 Local Government Areas of Osun State, the election conducted by the 1st defendant on 15% October, 2022, having being invalidated, nullified and voided, and the purported elected officials produced by the purported election having been sacked by the Federal High Court in FHC/CS/0S/103/2022; Action People Party (APP) VS. Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) & ors. delivered on the 30th November, 2022, and as confirmed by the decision of the Court of Appeal, in Appeal No. CA/AK/226M/2024, Allied People Movement (APM) & ORS vs. Action Peoples Party (APP) & ORS delivered on 13″ January, 2025.
“An order of this honourable court is granted, directing, mandating and compelling the defendants to fill the vacancies across the 30 Local Government Areas of Osun State through a democratic process by proceeding to conduct the Local Government Elections already scheduled by the defendants for 22nd of February, 2025.”
The court further mandated security agencies to provide security before, during and after the election on Saturday.
“An order of this honourable court is granted, directing, mandating and compelling all the Security agents comprising of the Nigeria Police, the Nigerian Army, the Department of State Security Services (DSS), the Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), the National Drugs and Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), the Amotekun Corps, the Vigilante Groups etc. to provide adequate security and maintain peace and order before, during and after the local government election scheduled by the Defendants for 22nd February, 2025 in Osun State,” it added.