Court fixes October 26 for judgment on Oyo Rep APC ticket

A Federal High Court sitting in Ibadan, Oyo State Judicial Division, on Monday, fixed Monday, October 26, 2026, for ruling in a suit on the ticket of the All Progressives Congress for Afijio/Atiba/Oyo East/Oyo West Federal Constituency (otherwise known as Oyo Federal Constituency) for the 2027 election.

The matter with suit number: FHC/IB/CS/64/2026 is between: Wakil Oyeleru Oyedemi vs. All Progressives Congress & 2 Ors.

The suit, which has Wakil Oyedemi as the Plantiff/Respondent also has the APC, Akeem Adeyemi and the Independent National Electoral Commission as the first, second and third defendants respectively in the suit.

The principal prayer of the plaintiff (Wakil Oyeleru Oyedemi) is an order of Court nullifying and/or setting aside the APC House of Representatives primary conducted in Oyo Federal Constituency for non-compliance with the Electoral Act 2026 and the Guidelines of the APC.

All the parties were absent, but were all represented by their Counsels. They presented their oral submission before the Court when the matter came up on Monday in Ibadan, the Oyo State capital.

A Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Musibau Adetunbi, appeared for the Plantiff/Respondent; while Ibrahim Bawa (SAN) led other lawyers on behalf of the 1st Defendant (APC); Kazeem Adedeji appeared for the 2nd Defendant (Akeem Adeyemi) and A.F Lawal represented the Independent National Electoral Commission, which is the 3rd Defendant.

Adetunbi, while urging the Court to grant the prayers of the plaintiff, told the Court of the various responses to the originating summons from the defendants, adding that, “all required affidavits have been presented to the Court with the necessary exhibits.”

Adopting all the processes filed in respect of the substantive suit, he urged the Court to grant the prayers relying on paragraph 6 and Exhibit INEC 1 of the 3rd Defendant.

He said, “Accreditation of members was not conducted in the four LGAs as contained in the papers presented before the Court, particularly highlighting the INEC affidavit that accreditation was not done on Wards 4, 5, 6 and 7.

“My duty as Counsel was to demonstrate before the Court what is contained in the written address”, urging the Court to nullify the primary election and order the conduct of a fresh primary within the stipulated time.

Responding to the preliminary objections of the 1st Defendant, he quoted Adeyemi Vs APC 2025 NWLR, Part 1927, 63, Page 119, arguing that he has a right to call all the Agents as against the argument of the 1st Defendant that the plaintiff does not have a right to do so.

On the 2nd objection, Adetunbi contended using paragraph 15:7 of the 2nd Defendant’s affidavit, saying “there was no issue of waiver when there was no accreditation in all the LGAs,” according to INEC.

He urged the Court to refuse the case of all the Defendants, appealing that the Judge take a physical look at Exhibit INEC 1 (filed by 3rd Defendant) and compare same with Exhibit A of 1st Defendant recently filed, indicating that the evidence presented is not signed by the same named person.

Making his submission to the plaintiff’s originating summon, Counsel to the 1st Defendant (APC), Ibrahim Bawa (SAN) said with a 40-paragraph affidavit presented, he urged the Court to dismiss the plaintiff’s originating summon on the ground of incompetence.

He argued that the matter is a special proceeding in which parties are not allowed to call witnesses, arguing that the plaintiff presenting 39 affidavits without leave of Court is against the spirit of the law guiding the proceedings.

He urged the Court to dismiss the application, noting that the matter in which the matter was taken is against the Evidence Act and the Electoral Act.

In his submission, Counsel to the 2nd Defendant, Kazeem Adedeji, said the notice of preliminary objection filed was predicated on many grounds and in consonance with the rule of the Court.

He said, “The case of the plaintiff is simple, that there was no primary election, which we have replied that the affidavit to show that there was an indirect primary election. Also, it was not the case of the plaintiff that the election was by consensus and therefore has no case making reference to it because his prayers were that there was no election, either consensus or primary, and as such any argument in that wise should go to no- case submission.”

He, therefore, urged the Court to uphold his submissions, saying the plaintiff’s case must fail both on fact and in law

The Counsel to the 3rd Defendant (INEC), A.F. Lawal, in his submissions, aligned himself with the submissions of the 1st Defendant, and adopted all his processes.

He urged the court to dismiss the originating summons of the plaintiff. The presiding Judge, Nkeonye Evelyn Maha, after taking all the submissions from all the Counsels, therefore, “adjourned till Monday, October 26 to deliver judgment on the matter.”