A coalition of civil society organisations in Osun State has accused those they called “court-sacked and tenure-expired” local government chairmen and councillors elected on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC) of unlawfully occupying council secretariats across the state, allegedly with the active support of the Nigeria Police Force.
At a press briefing in Osogbo earlier today (Monday, January 12), the group said the continued presence of the ex-officials amounted to a brazen violation of the Constitution and a direct affront to the authority of the courts.
They called on the judiciary, security agencies, and the international democratic community to urgently intervene.
The groups recalled that in 2022, the Federal High Court nullified the local government elections conducted by the then APC-led administration in Osun State, sacking all chairmen and councillors purportedly elected in the exercise for failing to comply with legal requirements.
According to the statement, that judgment was affirmed by the Court of Appeal on June 13, 2024, in a unanimous decision delivered by Justices Oyebisi Folayemi Omoleye, Peter Obiorah, and Hadiza Rabiu Shagari.
The appellate court, they said, conclusively settled the issue of the officials’ lack of lawful mandate.
Despite the clear court rulings, the civil society groups alleged that the affected former chairmen and councillors refused to vacate office, instead claiming a non-existent reinstatement order.
Acting on this claim, they were said to have, in February 2025, forcefully occupied council secretariats across Osun State, allegedly under armed police protection.
The coalition further argued that even if the officials had any residual claim to office, which it rejected, their tenure had already expired.
The group cited filings by the Attorney-General of the Federation before the Supreme Court confirming that the tenure elapsed on October 26, 2024, while also noting admissions by the same officials in a separate suit seeking tenure elongation.
That suit, filed at the Federal High Court in Osogbo and marked FHC/OS/CS/147/2025, seeks judicial extension of the officials’ tenure.
However, the civil society organisations stressed that the case is yet to be heard and that no interim or final order has been granted authorising any extension or continued occupation of office beyond the tenure expiration date, which they also referenced as October 26, 2025.
The group invoked a Supreme Court precedent, including the case involving former Oyo State Governor, Senator Rashidi Ladoja, in which the apex court held that the tenure of an elected official cannot be elongated by the official or by any court.
They insisted that filing a tenure-elongation suit does not confer any right to remain in office after tenure expiration.
Attention was also drawn to what the coalition described as police complicity in the crisis.
They alleged that the Osun State police authorities continued to provide protection for the officials, and that on January 5, 2026, police-backed invasions of council secretariats occurred across the state.
During the January 5 incident, the groups claimed that civil servants who had only recently resumed work after months of strike action were molested and dehumanised by the returning officials.
They described the episode as an abuse of police powers and active connivance in constitutional violations.
The coalition demanded the immediate withdrawal of police protection from the officials, their prompt evacuation from all local government secretariats, and the restoration of constitutional order.
Warning that persistent defiance of court judgments threatens democracy and public order, the groups urged all relevant authorities to act swiftly to uphold the rule of law in Osun State.
-Daily Sun
