The Court of Appeal sitting in Akure, Ondo State, has dismissed the appeal filed by the All Progressives Congress (APC), affirming the legitimacy of the February 2025 local government elections in Osun State.
The judgement, delivered on Friday, 13 June 2025, upheld the victory of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and its elected Chairmen and Councillors.
The panel of justices — Oyebisi Folayemi Omoleye, Peter Chudi Obiorah, and Hadiza Rabiu Shagari — held that the appeal lacked merit, had been overtaken by events, and constituted a mere academic exercise.
The suit, numbered CA/AK/15/2025, was filed by the Allied People’s Movement (APM), Babatunde Nurudeen Idowu, and the APC against the Action Peoples Party (APP), INEC, OSSIEC, APGA, and Prince Adegboye Famodun.
Justice Omoleye ruled, “Critically, this Court had earlier delivered judgment on 10th February 2025 in Appeal No. CA/AK/270/2022, involving basically the same parties and addressing substantially the same issues.
“The said appeal has been dismissed. What is more, the fresh Local Government elections conducted on 22nd February 2025 and the swearing-in of new Chairmen and Councillors have overtaken the substratum of this dispute. Relisting the appeal at this stage would serve no practical purpose.”
She added, “In sum, this application is not only procedurally incompetent and factually unsupported, it is also one rendered otiose by subsequent events. There is no longer any live controversy.
Justice Obiorah, in a concurring judgement, declared, “Of course, the dismissal of the appeal means that there being no existing appeal against the judgment of the lower court, the said judgment stands as the authority defining the state of affairs as it regards the status of the officers of the various Local Government Councils in Osun State.”
He also addressed the issue of contempt, saying, “However, the issue of violation of the orders of the lower court and the alleged contempt is the 3a Respondent/Applicant’s interpretation of the action of the 3d Appellant/Respondent with respect to their treatment of the judgment of the lower court, particularly after the dismissal of their appeal by this Court on 13/1/2025.
“The said contempt is ex-facie curiae. In INEC & ANOR v. OGUEBEGO & ORS (2017) LPELR-42609(SC) (Pp. 10-12 paras. F), the highly revered and cerebral, Chima Centus Nweze, JSC (of blessed memory) stated.”
Reacting to the judgment in an X post, PDP welcomed the ruling, describing it as a confirmation of the people’s mandate and a defeat for political desperation.
The party said the Certified True Copy of the ruling had “affirmed that the Court has dismissed APC’s appeal and affirmed Chairmen and Councillors elected in the 2025 Local Government Election as the duly elected council officials in Osun State.”
“The Presiding Judge, Oyebisi Folayemi Omoleye in her ruling stated that since a fresh election has been conducted and new Chairmen and Councillors have been sworn in, there is no controversy anymore,” PDP added.
