Appeal Court turns down SDP plea to relocate Ekiti governorship tribunal

The Court of Appeal has rejected a request by counsel to the Social Democratic Party (SDP) to move the Ekiti State Governorship Election Petition Tribunal out of Ado-Ekiti over claimed security threats, clearing the way for proceedings to resume in the state capital.

On Wednesday, September 23, the three-member tribunal led by Justice Abubakar Kutigi informed parties that the President of the Court of Appeal, Justice Monica Dongban-Mensem, had declined to order a transfer of the sitting.

The panel was properly constituted and would continue hearing the petitions challenging the re-election of Governor Biodun Oyebanji of the All Progressives Congress (APC).

ADVERTISEMENT

The development followed an earlier adjournment from September 16 to September 23. That pause was granted so the Appeal Court President could consider the petitioners’ application for a change of venue after an alleged assault on SDP counsel Ebenezer Akinbuli. In Akinbuli’s absence on Wednesday, another letter was served on the tribunal seeking a further adjournment until the relocation request was resolved.

Counsel to the APC and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Kabir Akingbolu and Bunmi Ipinlaiye, told the court they were unaware of any formal order from the Appeal Court that had been served through the tribunal secretary. To clear remaining doubts, Justice Kutigi adjourned the matter to Thursday, September 24, for continuation of hearing.

Speaking with journalists after the sitting, Akingbolu clarified that the relocation demand related specifically to the SDP petition and not the parallel petition filed by the Action Alliance (AA). He said the petitioners themselves had sought the latest adjournment through letters filed in respect of both petitions.

Akingbolu described the challenge to Oyebanji’s victory as unusual given the scale of the governor’s win in the June 20, 2026, election.

According to official results, Oyebanji polled 319,224 votes and carried all 16 local government areas as well as the overwhelming majority of the state’s 177 wards. The SDP candidate recorded only 179 votes, while the AA candidate scored 126. The Peoples Democratic Party’s Wole Oluyede, who came second with 40,543 votes, and the African Democratic Congress candidate had earlier withdrawn their petitions.

“The success of the governor and the people is unprecedented,” Akingbolu said. “It has never happened in Nigeria in a governorship election that somebody who has not scored thousands, or even hundreds, will come and file an election petition. For me, I don’t think it is proper… If somebody writes that kind of petition when there is no ground, I think it is an illegal step.”

He accused the petitioners of employing delay tactics, including repeated applications for adjournment, and urged them to concentrate on the substantive issues before the tribunal.

The SDP petition, which continues despite the personal withdrawal of its original candidate, Isaac Alade, alleges that the election did not substantially comply with the Electoral Act 2026. The AA petition remains on the cause list as well. Earlier sittings had seen the tribunal criticise the SDP for delays in presenting witnesses, with counsel at one point citing internal party difficulties and the alleged security incident.

Security concerns and requests to relocate election tribunals are not new in Nigeria. In previous cycles, similar applications have been refused once security agencies gave assurances of protection for proceedings. On this occasion, the Appeal Court President’s decision means the Ekiti tribunal will continue its work in Ado-Ekiti under existing security arrangements.

Hearing is scheduled to resume on Thursday as the panel presses ahead with the remaining petitions.