Lawyer files motion against Osun LG parliamentary polls

A human rights lawyer, Mr Kanmi Ajibola on Monday filed the fresh motion against the conduct of last Saturday local government parliamentary election in Osun before a State High Court, sitting in Ilesa, asking the court to nullify the exercise in its entirety.

In the motion filed before Justice Kola Adegoke of the State High Court, Ajibola argued that the Saturday local government poll should be set aside based on the intentional disregard to the court processes by the defendants in the case.

Similarly,  the lawyer in an 83-paragraph affidavit deposed to in support of his motion also accused Governor Rauf Aregbesola of abuse of office, stressing that the two days public holiday declared by him was aimed at preventing the court from giving a bench ruling on the suit challenging the conduct of the elections.

Ajibola had sued the governor, the State House of Assembly, the State Independent Electoral Commission (OSSIEC), All Peoples Congress (APC), All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), Social Democratic Party (SDP) and eight other political parties and the case was adjourned to Thursday, January 25 but the two days holiday declared by Aregbesola prevented the court from sitting.

The suit against the conduct of the elections was filed by Ajibola on November 6, 2017.

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In his written address, he explained that his application was predicated on three grounds, saying the 1^st defendant “in this suit used his position to overreach and take advantage of the plaintiff and rule of law, as the Governor of Osun State, by declaring a public holiday to prevent this court to sit on this suit on the 25^th day of January 2018.

“The defendants by their actions of conducting of the LG election have foisted a fait accompli on this court and have destroyed the res in this suit which can only be restored by the setting aside of the said election”, he stated.

Ajibola subsequently sought for an order of this court to nullify the polls conducted “during the pendency of the suit” by the OSSIEC on the cooperation and participation of other defendants under the “State of Osun Local Government Area (Creation and administration) Law, 2015 and State of Osun Local Government Areas (Creation and administration) amendment (No. 1) Law 2017”.

In his affidavit, Ajibola contended that the “State of Osun Law” upon which the election was based and conducted cannot stand because on the 14^th of December 2017, the State High Court in its judgment in Suit No. HIL/M47/2016, between himself and Governor of Osun State & 2 others had held that “the State of Osun” and “State of Osun House of Assembly” are not known to the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.