The Network of Civil Society Groups in Osun State has described the reinstated chairmen and councillors, who are currently occupying the local councils in the state under the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC), as illegal and said they would soon face the wrath of citizens.
The groups accused the APC chairmen and councillors of brazenly committing illegality, adding that they are being unjustly aided by the Osun State Police Command.
Addressing a press conference in Osogbo on Monday, the convener of the civil society groups, Stephen Olanrewaju, asked the officials, whom he described as “illegal occupants”, to vacate the councils or face the wrath of the public, noting that the act is “political banditry”.
Asked what the societies would do should the occupants remain unyielding, he said, “We are ready to mobilise individuals who are ready to sustain our natural heritage, where the power that belongs to the people will be returned to them.”
Drawing the attention of the Nigerian public, the judiciary, relevant security authorities, and the international democratic community to developments at the third tier of government in the state, Olanrewaju said there is “ongoing and brazen illegality being perpetrated across the local government councils of Osun State through the unlawful occupation of council secretariats by APC Yes or No chairmen and councillors holding on to an imaginary and expired tenure, with active protection from the Osun State Command of the Nigeria Police Force.”
Giving some background and court decisions on the logjam, Olanrewaju stated that “in 2022, the Federal High Court nullified the purported local government elections conducted by the APC-led administration in Osun State and consequently sacked all APC chairmen and councillors purportedly elected from that exercise for failing to meet the required legal provisions.
“This judgment was subsequently affirmed by the Court of Appeal in a judgment delivered by Justices Oyebisi Folayemi Omoleye, Peter Obiorah and Hadiza Rabiu Shagari on June 13th 2025, thereby settling the issue of their lack of lawful mandate.
“Despite these clear judicial pronouncements, the sacked chairmen and councillors refused to obey the subsisting court orders, falsely claiming a non-existent reinstatement order. Acting on this falsehood, they forcefully occupied local government council secretariats across the state, with armed police protection allegedly provided by the Osun State Command of the Nigerian Police Force.”
On the expiration of tenure, the activist submitted, “Let us assume, without conceding, that the sacked officials had any valid claim; their tenure lawfully expired on 26th October 2024. This fact was expressly confirmed by the Attorney-General of the Federation in filings before the Supreme Court of Nigeria. More instructively, the same court sacked APC chairmen and councillors, who admitted to the expiration of their tenure when they filed a tenure-elongation suit at the Federal High Court, Osogbo, in suit number FHC/OS/CS/147/2025, seeking judicial extension of their time in office.”
He added, “It must be stated clearly and unequivocally that: The tenure elongation suit filed in the Federal High Court, Osogbo, has yet to be heard. No interim, interlocutory, or final order has been issued by any court permitting the elongation of their tenure or authorising their continued occupation of office. Therefore, their continued stay in the council secretariats after 26th October 2025 is illegal, unconstitutional, and contemptuous of court.”
He noted that the law on tenure elongation is long settled, stating that in the Supreme Court decision in the case involving former Governor of Oyo State, Senator Rashidi Ladoja, the apex court categorically held that no elected official’s tenure can be elongated, whether by the official himself or by any court of law.
“Accordingly, there is no provision in the 1999 Constitution (as amended) or in any subsisting law that allows an individual or group to extend their tenure. Filing a tenure-elongation suit does not confer a right to remain in office after tenure has expired. Any official seeking elongation must vacate office immediately upon tenure expiry and pursue such claims from outside the office,” he said.
Making known the demands of the Network, Olanrewaju asked the Nigeria Police Force to immediately withdraw all protection from those he described as illegal occupants and desist from enforcing lawlessness.
“All individuals whose tenure expired on 26th October 2025 must vacate the council secretariats forthwith, failing which they should be lawfully removed in accordance with due process. Brazen violations of the Constitution and open defiance of court judgments pose a grave threat to democratic governance, the rule of law, and public order in Osun State. Nigeria cannot afford to normalise illegality, especially at the grassroots level of governance.”
“We call on all relevant authorities to act urgently to restore constitutional order and uphold the sanctity of the rule of law. In closing, we warn that the patience of the Osun people and the wider civil society community is not infinite. Democracy cannot survive where court judgments are mocked. Osun State will not surrender to anarchy or impunity under any guise,” he demanded.
