Osun LG Crisis: APC Chairmen Urge IGP To Stay Action Pending Appeal

The All Progressives Congress (APC) local government chairmen in Osun State have urged the Inspector-General of Police (IGP), Olatunji Disu, to refrain from enforcing the June 15, 2026 judgment of the Federal High Court in Osogbo pending the determination of their appeal and application for a stay of execution.

The request was contained in a letter dated June 17, 2026, written by Kunle Adegoke (SAN) & Co. to the IGP on behalf of the claimants.

According to the letter, the claimants stated that they were dissatisfied with the judgment delivered on June 15 by Justice Adefunmilola A. Demi-Ajayi of the Federal High Court, Osogbo Judicial Division, who dismissed the APC chairmen’s tenure-elongation suit. They subsequently filed a Notice of Appeal at the Court of Appeal, Akure Division, on June 16, 2026.

The claimants further disclosed that they had also filed a Motion for Stay of Execution of the judgment before the trial court on the same day, adding that the application was still pending before the Federal High Court.

The letter partly read: “Kindly be guided by the decision of the Court of Appeal in M. O. Kanu, Sons & Co. v. F.B.N. Plc [1998] 11 NWLR (Pt. 572) 116 at 127, Paras D-F, where Nsofor JCA (as His Lordship then was) held thus:

“It is recognised that the broad basis for the exercise of the power to order a stay of execution is equitable — an equitable principle which strikes a balance between the entitlement of a successful litigant to the fruits of a judgment in his favour, on the one hand, and the need not only that the intending appellant’s constitutional right to appeal is not impeded in any way but also, more importantly, that when he exercises that right successfully, the result is not rendered nugatory, on the other hand”.

The lawyer argued that any attempt to enforce the judgment before the determination of the pending processes could occasion a miscarriage of justice and further frustrate the administration of local governments in Osun State.

“It is in view of the above, and among a plethora of appellate court decisions on the need to stay execution of a judgment once an appeal is pending coupled with an application for stay thereof, that we respectfully urge you and your office to refrain from taking any step towards the execution of the judgment, as such execution will undermine the pending judicial process at the Court of Appeal and occasion a grave miscarriage of justice, thereby frustrating the administration of local governments in Osun State,” Adegoke said.