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JUST IN: Tension in Osun as controversial LG election holds amid security threats

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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.

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Burial begins for Oyo school teacher killed by JAS terrorist group

The deceased teacher is expected to be buried at his residence in the Owolake area of Ogbomoso.

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The burial arrangements for Adesiyan Adegboye, the teacher killed during last Friday’s coordinated attack on three schools in Oriire Local Government Area of Oyo State, began on Friday at Ayegun Baptist Church, Ogbomoso.

Adegboye, 49, was shot dead during the invasion carried out by armed bandits at Baptist Nursery and Primary School, Yawota, Community Grammar School, and L.A. Primary School, Esiele.

The deceased teacher is expected to be buried at his residence in the Owolake area of Ogbomoso.

The attackers reportedly stormed the schools around 9:30am, abducting several teachers and students during the operation that threw the communities into panic.

Following the incident, the Inspector-General of Police, Olatunji Disu, visited the affected area on Saturday and ordered the deployment of additional detectives from the Force Headquarters in Abuja to support ongoing rescue efforts.

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FG launches GovGuideNigeria to boost citizens governance access

GovGuideNigeria platform is accessible through WhatsApp and the web, and is available in English, Hausa, Igbo, and Yoruba to ensure wider accessibility for citizens across different linguistic backgrounds.

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The Minister of Communications, Innovation, and Digital Economy, Dr Bosun Tijan, has said that Nigerians can now access the government information and services through the newly launched GovGuideNigeria.

The artificial intelligence-powered platform was launched on May 21 by the government in collaboration with Meta, the National Centre for Artificial Intelligence and Robotics (NCAIR), and local developer partner Publica AI.

According to the Minister, the platform is accessible through WhatsApp and the web, and is available in English, Hausa, Igbo, and Yoruba to ensure wider accessibility for citizens across different linguistic backgrounds.

Tijani stated that the platform provides users with easy access to information from more than 35 federal ministries and over 60 government agencies.

He described the initiative as part of the government’s efforts to improve public service delivery through technology and digital innovation.

Sade Dada, Head of Public Policy, Meta, said during the launch “Meta’s open-source AI is critical to economic growth and productivity — and GovGuide Nigeria, is a clear example of what this looks like in practice.

Ignatius Willie, CEO, Publica AI said, “Today is not just a product launch. It is a step towards democratising how Nigerians engage with their government. With GovGuide Nigeria, we are not simply digitising access to public services; we are making them conversational, multilingual, and available on the channels Nigerians already use every day.

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DHQ says JAS terrorists carried out Oyo kidnap

The DHQ denied reports suggesting it referred to terrorists operating in the South-West as ordinary criminals, insisting that such interpretations were inaccurate and misleading.

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Photo: Maj Gen Michael Onoja

The Defence Headquarters disclosed that the attackers behind the Oyo abduction were members of the Jama’atu Ahlis Sunna Lidda’awati wal-Jihad terrorist group displaced by sustained military offensives across the country.

Latest week, schools in communities at Oriire Local Government Area of Oyo State, were attacked by terrorists ; they abducted pupils, teachers and other residents from Community High School, Ahoro-Esinle.

The incident also left several persons dead, while one of the abducted teachers, Michael Oyedokun, was later killed after a video linked to the attack surfaced online.

In a statement signed by the Director, Defence Media Operations, Maj Gen Michael Onoja, the DHQ confirmed said that the attack was perpetrated by terrorists of the JAS Group that have been dislodged from other parts of the country due to high-intensity operations being conducted all over the country.

The DHQ denied reports suggesting it referred to terrorists operating in the South-West as ordinary criminals, insisting that such interpretations were inaccurate and misleading.

“It is, therefore, inaccurate and misleading to suggest that the Defence Headquarters, at any point, referred to vicious and violent terrorists as criminals,” Onoja stated

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