The legal team that handled the All Progressives Congress (APC) gubernatorial election case in Osun has distanced itself from a petition allegedly filed by the party and its candidate, Asiwaju Munirudeen Bola Oyebamiji, against Governor Ademola Adeleke.
This development has created new uncertainty in the legal battle arising from the August 15 gubernatorial election, shortly after notices of two separate petitions were displayed at the Osun State Governorship Election Petitions Tribunal in Osogbo.
A senior Nigerian advocate and member of APC’s legal team, Kunle Adegoke, said in an interview on Monday that lawyers handling the party’s electoral affairs were not involved in the preparation or filing of the petition listed as filed by APC and Oyebamiji.
READ ALSO: APC and PPD file petitions against Adeleke’s re-election in Osun Court
According to him, the legal team, after examining the development and outcome of the elections, recommended the party candidate not to take the matter to court.
Adegoke explained that the recommendation came after consultations between members of the legal team, Oyebamiji, and other party leaders after the Independent National Electoral Commission announced Adeleke as the winner.
He said lawyers identified issues that could have formed the basis of an election petition, but deliberately opted for restraint, arguing that further litigation could aggravate political tension in the state.
The legal team, he said, considered Osun’s broader interest and concluded that conceding the election would provide an opportunity to ease political tensions.
Adegoke said the decision was also consistent with Oyebamiji’s subsequent congratulatory message to Adeleke, arguing that it would be inconsistent for the APC candidate to personally accept the result and then authorize another petition against the same result.
He therefore described the petition attributed to the APC candidate and the party as unauthorized, highlighting that lawyers involved in the party’s post-election review did not endorse it.
The SAN said the legal team had been involved in the party’s electoral affairs for several years and was able to identify grounds on which an election result could be challenged.
However, he maintained that the existence of possible electoral irregularities did not automatically translate into a decision to go to court, adding that the lawyers considered political stability and the interests of the people before reaching their recommendation.
He further revealed that the team included other senior lawyers including Dr Biodun Layoonu, Dr Yomi Aliyu and Dr Muritala Abdulrasheed, as well as law professors and other legal professionals.
Adegoke maintained that the lawyers were not motivated by personal hostility toward Adeleke or members of opposing political parties, insisting that their position was based on what they considered strategic and principled judgments.
The controversy arose following the public display of two petitions at the court registry within the premises of the Osun State High Court in Osogbo.
The notices, signed by court clerk Belemo Diete-Spiff, identified the first petition as EPT/Os/Gov/01/2026.
In that case, Oyebamiji and the APC were listed as petitioners, while Adeleke, the Accord Party and the Independent National Electoral Commission were listed as respondents.
A second petition, numbered EPT/Os/Gov/02/2026, listed the Peoples Democratic Party as the petitioner, with INEC, the Accord Party and Adeleke as respondents.
The appearance of the APC’s petition on the court’s notice board had earlier suggested that the party and its candidate had joined the legal dispute over the election result.
But Adegoke’s refusal introduces a new dimension to the ongoing court proceedings, with questions now likely to arise over the authority behind the petition and the legal status of those who allegedly filed it on behalf of the APC and its candidate.
Adeleke was declared the winner of the August 15 election after polling 511,067 votes, defeating Oyebamiji who polled 444,815 votes.
The governor won in 19 of the 30 local government areas of the state, while the APC candidate was victorious in 11.
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