Court Sacks Osun APC LG Chairmen, Councillors

A Federal High Court sitting in Osogbo, Osun State, has sacked the chairmen and councillors elected on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the October 15, 2022, local government elections in the state.

Naija News reports that the affected council officials, who were elected during the final months of the administration of former governor Adegboyega Oyetola, returned to office in February 2025 and had since been running the local government areas.

Justice Adefunmilola A. Demi-Ajayi delivered the judgment on Monday in suit No. FHC/OS/CS/147/2025, filed by the chairmen and councillors seeking an extension of their tenure.

The suit was instituted by Onibonokuta Saheed, Ayegbayo Gbolahan, Olayera Elugbaju, Adegbite Mufutau, Balogun Olanrewaju, Adeyemi Fatai, Isola Kamoli and Adeyemi Elliot, for themselves and on behalf of other local government chairmen and councillors elected on October 15, 2022.

Governor Ademola Adeleke, the Attorney General of the Federation (AGF), the Inspector General of Police (IGP), the Osun State Attorney General and the Osun State Independent Electoral Commission (OSIEC) were listed as respondents.

The claimants had approached the court to determine when their tenure should begin, arguing that they were prevented from performing their functions after taking the oath of office on October 25, 2022.

The suit commenced in September 2025. Following appeals arising from interlocutory rulings, the Court of Appeal in Abuja heard the matter on June 3, 2026, and adjourned the appeals to September 28, 2026.

Delivering judgment, Justice Demi-Ajayi dismissed the suit and held that the three-year tenure of the council officials had ended in October 2025.

The judge held that “the tenure of office of the elected officers of the local government councils ended in October 2025.”

Adeleke Hails Judgment

Reacting to the judgment, Adeleke said the dismissal of the tenure elongation suit aligned with the provisions of the constitution.

“The court also held that the sacked chairmen have no legal foundation to file the case in the first place. Based on this ruling, it is clear that the Yes/No chairmen’s tenure, if at all they have any, elapsed in October 2025,” Adeleke said.

The governor subsequently called on the Inspector General of Police, Olatunji Disu, to direct the Osun State Police Command to withdraw support for the affected chairmen.

“I specifically direct the Commissioner of Police to stop providing further security cover for the illegal occupation of the council secretariats by the sacked chairmen,” he added.

APC Faults Government’s Position

However, the Osun State chapter of the APC said the judgment also had implications for the local government elections conducted by OSIEC on February 22, 2025.

In a statement signed by its spokesperson, Kola Olabisi, the party said the judgment, by implication, also annulled the elections conducted by the state electoral body.

Olabisi urged members of the public “to be wary of the usual misleading information being peddled by the Osun State Government over the void elections and swearing-in purportedly done in February, 2025.”

Meanwhile, counsel for the sacked council chairmen and councillors, Muhydeen Adeoye, said his clients had filed an appeal against the judgment before the Court of Appeal, Akure Division.

Adeoye, who spoke with Punch on Tuesday, said the claimants had “headed to the Court of Appeal by a Notice of Appeal filed today, 16th June, 2026.”

He said, “Six grounds of appeal were primarily raised. The appellants have, by the notice of appeal, said the lower court set a case different from what was placed before the court for determination.

“In addition, we have a motion to restrain the respondents from disturbing the chairmen and councillors pending the final determination of the appeal.”