Erudite constitutional lawyer and human rights advocate, Professor Mike Ozekhome, SAN, has declared that based on his understanding of the Court of Appeal judgment on Local Government Councils in Osun State. the appellate Court did not reinstate the sacked Council officials but merely dismissed the case filed by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
Ozekhome therefore said that the conduct of a fresh Local Government Councils election in Osun State remains the only way to prevent “unnecessary orchestrated violence” in the state.
In the words of Ozekhome; “I watched with dismay and disgust as certain Local Government officials forcefully barged into the Local Government headquarters, attempting to reclaim office under the false and erroneous belief that the judgment of the Court of Appeal in the PDP case had reinstated them.
“Such an act was nothing short of brigandage and a crude resort to self-help. It must be condemned in the strongest terms, and I so condemn it. It was selfish and uncalled for.
“In the same vein, all those who aided and abetted this democratic aberration must be identified and prosecuted, no matter how highly placed they are,” he stressed.
Ozekhome explained that the Court of Appeal did not affirm the election held by the Osun State Independent Electoral Commission (OSIEC) in 2022, stressing that the appellate court only dismissed the PDP’s case without ruling on the legitimacy of the elections or commenting on the status of the dismissed officials.
He further said; “Contrary to the position of the sacked Local Government officials who sought to reclaim their offices forcibly, the Court of Appeal never reinstated them. Any claim to that effect is a deliberate distortion of facts and a resort to sophistry”.
Ozekhome specifically said that the only ruling made by the Court of Appeal was an order for the PDP to pay the appellants ₦250,000 in costs. There was no order for the reinstatement of the removed chairmen.
Ozekhome therefore urged political parties in Osun State to go for new elections to enable them gauge their popularity through a fair, transparent, and credible voting process just as he tasked politicians to avoid involving the judiciary in political disputes, but should engage in “clean politics.”
He said that contrary to claims that of judicial involvement in the Osun State local government crisis, Ozekhome noted that the judiciary acted in good faith and remained dedicated to maintaining the rule of law and electoral integrity.
According to him; “It is now the responsibility of law enforcement agencies and government institutions to ensure that judicial decisions are respected and upheld. All persons and authorities must obey court judgments. Parties are not permitted to pick and choose which judgments to obey or disobey”.
Ozekhome said that the judiciary’s rulings in both the PDP and All Progressives Congress (APC) cases reinforced the primacy of the Electoral Act over state laws in governing local government elections by invoking the legal principle of “covering the field,” which states that any state law that conflicts with federal laws is invalid, to the extent of the inconsistency.
