Adefemi Adesakin
The Osun State High Court sitting in Ilesa has ordered the Osun State Independent Electoral Commission (OSSIEC) to proceed with conducting elections for vacant local government chairmanship and councillorship positions across the 30 local government areas and the area office in Osun State.
The ruling, delivered on Friday, February 21, 2025, followed a suit filed by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), which sought legal clarification on the status of local council administrations in the state.
The court affirmed that the previous election conducted by OSSIEC on October 15, 2022, had been invalidated, nullified, and voided. It referenced the Federal High Court ruling in FHC/CS/OS/103/2022; Action Peoples Party (APP) vs. Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) & Ors, delivered on November 30, 2022, as well as the Court of Appeal’s decision in Appeal No: CA/AK/226M/2024; Allied People’s Movement (APM) & Ors vs. Action Peoples Party (APP) & Ors, which upheld the invalidation on January 13, 2025.
In its ruling, the court upheld the prayers of the PDP and directed OSSIEC to proceed with the elections as planned for Saturday, February 22, 2025.
Furthermore, the court ordered all security agencies—including the Nigeria Police, the Nigerian Army, the Department of State Services (DSS), the Nigeria Security and Civil Defense Corps (NSCDC), the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), Amotekun Corps, and vigilante groups—to ensure adequate security during and after the election.
