By John Dike, Osogbo
A coalition of civil society organisations under the banner of the Network of Civil Society Groups, Osun State, has raised alarm over alleged illegal and unconstitutional occupation of local government secretariats across the state by court-sacked and tenure-expired APC chairmen and councillors.
Addressing journalists in Osogbo on Monday, the group led by
by Comrade Olanrewaju Stephen, Convener; Rafiu Sadiq Akinkunmi, Secretary-General; and Tobiloba Richard Agboola, Public Relations Officer respectively accused the affected officials of clinging to office despite ther sack by the court.
The group said that there were clear judgments nullifying their election and also confirming the expiration of their tenure.
It accused the state police command of protecting the illegally acclaimed chairmen and councillors
According to the coalition, the Federal High Court in 2022 nullified the local government elections conducted under the former APC administration for failure to comply with legal requirements, a decision that led to the sack of all chairmen and councillors produced by the exercise.
The group noted that the judgment was subsequently affirmed by the Court of Appeal on June 13, 2025, in a unanimous decision delivered by Justices Oyebisi Folayemi Omoleye, Peter Obiorah, and Hadiza Rabiu Shagari, thereby extinguishing any lawful mandate claimed by the officials.
Despite the subsisting judgments, the civil society organisations alleged that the sacked officials had refused to vacate office, claiming a non-existent reinstatement order and forcefully occupying council secretariats across the state.
The coalition further stressed that even if the officials had any residual claim to office, which it firmly rejected, their tenure lawfully expired on 26 October 2025, a fact reportedly acknowledged by the Attorney-General of the Federation in filings before the Supreme Court.
More significantly, the group revealed that the same officials had approached the Federal High Court in Osogbo in Suit No. FHC/OS/CS/147/2025, seeking judicial extension of their tenure, an action which, according to the coalition, amounted to an admission that their tenure had indeed expired.
The group emphasised that the suit was yet to be heard and that no interim, interlocutory, or final order had been issued permitting tenure elongation or continued occupation of office.
Citing settled Supreme Court authority, including the landmark case involving former Oyo State Governor, Senator Rashidi Ladoja, the coalition stated that no elected official’s tenure can be extended by self-help or court order, insisting that filing a suit does not confer a right to remain in office after tenure expiration.
The group also accused the
Osun State Commissioner of Police, CP Ibrahim Gotan, of providing cover for the illegal occupation of council secretariats.
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It alleged that on January 5, 2026, the tenure-expired officials, under police protection, forcibly re-entered local government secretariats, during which civil servants who had resumed work after months of industrial action were allegedly molested and dehumanised.
Describing the situation as “political banditry” and a grave assault on the rule of law, the coalition demanded the immediate withdrawal of police protection from the affected officials and their prompt removal from the council secretariats in line with due process.
“The continued defiance of court judgments and open violation of the Constitution pose a serious threat to democratic governance and public order in Osun State,” the group warned.
In their concluding remarks, the civil society organisations cautioned that public patience was wearing thin, insisting that democracy cannot survive where court judgments are openly mocked.
