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JUST IN: Tension in Osun as controversial LG election holds amid security threats
There is tension in Osun State following Governor Ademola Adeleke’s insistence to conduct the controversial Local Government election despite security threats and stiff resistance from opposition parties.
Stakeholders, particularly opposition parties and security agencies, have raised concerns over the security situation in the state, predicting unrest.
The concerns followed previous events where members of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, and the All Progressives Congress, APC, clashed, resulting in the death of at least six party members on Monday.
The crisis escalated when the previously sacked local government chairmen and councillors moved to return to council offices after a court judgement.
The APC members had moved to enforce the judgment of the Court of Appeal, Akure Division, delivered on February 10, 2025, which overturned their sack by the verdict of the Osogbo Federal High Court on November 25, 2022.
Recall that a judgment by Justice Nathaniel Ayo-Emmanuel of an Osogbo Federal High Court, delivered on November 25, 2022, had sacked the chairmen and councillors elected in the poll conducted by the immediate past Osun State Governor, Adegboyega Oyetola.
However, the Court of Appeal nullified the judgment on February 10 this year, leading to chaos across all the Local Government Areas in the state.
Despite resistance from the PDP members, the reinstated Chairmen insisted that the planned election must be cancelled until their tenure elapsed in October 2025.
AGF warns Governor Adeleke against disobeying Appeal Court ruling
Wading into the crisis on Thursday, the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi urged Governor Adeleke to respect the Appeal Court judgement, stating that the tenure of the chairmen and the councillors has been restored.
The AGF accused Governor Adeleke of attempting to override the judiciary and warned that proceeding with the election would constitute a serious violation of the Nigerian constitution.
According to him, such elections will “not only be invalid since the term of office of the elected officials just restored by the judgment of the Court of Appeal will still be running until October 2025, but it will also amount to an egregious breach of the Constitution which Governor Adeleke has sworn to uphold”.
Court orders conduct of polls SaturdayDespite the legal advice from the AGF, an Osun State High Court in Ilesa on Friday ordered the State Independent Electoral Commission, OSSIEC, to conduct elections for the LG chairmen and councillors in all the 30 council areas on Saturday (today).
Justice A. Aderigbigbe, who gave the judgement, stated that there is vacancy in the 30 local government areas of the state as earlier held in a judgement by the Federal High Court.
The court also directed and compelled all the security agencies, including the Nigeria Police, Department of State Services, DSS, Nigerian Army, the Nigeria Security and Civil Defense Corps, NSCDC, among others, to provide adequate security, during and after the election.
News
Oshiomhole Proposes “Tit for tat” diplomacy against South Africa over Xenophobic attacks
When we hit back, the president of South Africa will go on his knees to recognise that Nigerians cannot be intimidated,
Adams Oshiomhole, former Edo State Governor/senator representing Edo North Senatorial District, has urged the Federal Government to take immediate diplomatic and protective measures amid the renewed xenophobic attacks against Nigerians in South Africa.
Speaking during plenary, the lawmaker emphasised that Nigeria must respond firmly to protect its citizens, citing the principle of reciprocity in international relations.
He said, “I don’t want this Senate to be shedding tears, to sympathise with those who have died. We didn’t come here to shed tears.
“If you hit me, I’ll hit you. I think it is appropriate in diplomacy. It’s an economic struggle.”
Oshiomhole linked the current tensions to broader political dynamics in South Africa, noting that anti-immigrant sentiments had featured in the country’s domestic politics and were influencing attitudes toward foreign nationals, including Nigerians and maintained that such steps would strengthen Nigeria’s bargaining position.
The lawmaker further argued that Nigerians living in South Africa were economically productive and not dependent on the host country.
“These Nigerians who are in South Africa, they are not there on holiday. They are there to work and to earn.
“When we hit back, the president of South Africa will go on his knees to recognise that Nigerians cannot be intimidated,” he said.
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Nigerians in South Africa to pay their returns ticket home – FG
Mr Ebienfa said that the process will In the recent past, such reparations have been sponsored by Nigerian airline owners, particularly Allen Onyema, the CEO of Air Peace.
•Photo: Xenophobia : South African protesters in Pretoria on Friday. Twitter photo.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs said Nigerians interested in repatriation from South Africa will be responsible for the cost of their return trip to Nigeria.
In the recent past, such reparations have been sponsored by Nigerian airline owners, particularly Allen Onyema, the CEO of Air Peace.
The ministry’s spokesperson, Kimiebi Ebienfa, stated this during a press briefing on Monday in Abuja.
The briefing came shortly after a closed-door meeting between the Ministry’s Permanent Secretary, Dunoma Ahmed, and the South African Acting High Commissioner, Lesoli Machele.
Mr Ebienfa said that the process will be self-funded and not state-funded, as it is a voluntary decision that the Nigerian government will only facilitate and coordinate.
News
Ezekwesili Tackles Tinubu Over Attacks On Nigerians In South Africa
Ezekwesili described the President’s trip to France, Kenya, and Rwanda as a “total absence of leadership” at a time when Nigerians abroad are reportedly facing violence, killings, and displacement.
Former Minister of Education, Oby Ezekwesili, has issued a public memo to Bola Tinubu, urging him to halt his ongoing foreign trips and address the escalating attacks on Nigerians in South Africa.
In the statement dated 4 May 2026, Ezekwesili described the President’s trip to France, Kenya, and Rwanda as a “total absence of leadership” at a time when Nigerians abroad are reportedly facing violence, killings, and displacement.
She condemned what she called the Federal Government’s routine diplomatic response to the crisis, arguing that repeated statements, advisories, and limited evacuations fall far short of what is required.
“The recurring killing, harassment, looting and intimidation of Nigerians in South Africa is no longer a matter for routine diplomacy,” she said, warning that the situation reflects a deeper failure by the Nigerian state to protect its citizens.
Source: Leadership
Oshiomhole Proposes “Tit for tat” diplomacy against South Africa over Xenophobic attacks
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