Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF) and Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi, SAN, has warned governors and their Houses of Assembly against unlawful removal of democratically elected local government council officials, saying such acts are not only treasonable but also have consequences.
Fagbemi, who sounded the warning at the Nigerian Bar Association’s State of the Nation Discourse, pointed out that the consequences would be in spite of the immunity clause shielding the governors.
But Osun State Governor, Ademola Adeleke, at a meeting with top British diplomats, accused the Inspector of Police (IGP), Mr Kayode Egbetokun, of executing and imposing illegality on local councils in the state. This followed a forceful takeover of local government secretariats in the state by former APC council chairmen and councillors claiming to be acting based on a court order.
Earlier, the House of Representatives called on Fagbemi to properly advise all parties to the dispute over the control of local governments in Osun State on the true position of the law.
Nonetheless, no fewer than 20 local government secretariats were taken over by the purportedly reinstated chairmen and councillors in Osun State from the All Progressives Congress (APC).
Immediately they resumed at their desks, the council chairmen and councillors ordered the freezing of the various council accounts.
But Speaker of the state House of Assembly, Hon. Olumide Egbedun, called on Egbetokun to act swiftly and decisively to ensure the arrest and prosecution of all illegal occupants of the local government secretariats.
An Abuja-based lawyer and rights activist, Mr Pelumi Olajengbesi, warned the federal government and the ruling APC against the forceful take-over of the Osun State government, stressing that such attempts would only lead to unimaginable chaos and anarchy.
Speaking at the NBA State of the Nation Discourse, Fagbemi said the administration of President Bola Tinubu, taking into consideration the crucial role of local government councils in the development of any nation, had last year approached the apex court to ensure the autonomy of the local governments as the third tier of the government in the country.
He lamented, “Despite the judgement of the Supreme Court, outlawing the illegal removal of democratically elected local government councils by governors, it is quite unfortunate that a few states have continued to flagrantly carry on with this illegality.
“Let me state in unequivocal terms that this act is tantamount to treason and must be treated as such.”
Fagbemi, who was represented by Director, Civil Appeals in the FMOJ, Gazali (SAN), stated that while “Section 308 of the constitution grants the governor immunity from prosecution…flagrant disobedience to the Supreme Court judgement will have unpleasant consequences for the state as a whole, should it persist.”
He also took a swipe at lawyers and state attorneys-general for failing to advise their respective clients and governors properly.
According to Fagbemi, “There is a worrisome trend in the legal profession these days where lawyers, including the state Attorneys-General, allow their clients and political leaders to dictate the law to them when it should be the other way around.
“This is quite unbecoming of gentlemen of the bar and it must be addressed and reversed immediately. We must all remember that we owe a duty to the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria before our political allegiances.
“Every state in Nigeria has an attorney-general, therefore, the failure of states to the local government structures in their states, in my opinion, can be attributed to the complete dereliction of duty by the attorneys-general to the rule of law they swore to uphold.”
He added that lawyers must be courageous enough to always give the correct legal advice to politicians, who believed they had the right to breach the sacred provisions of the constitution, regardless of the repercussion.
While acknowledging that as servants of the law the primary duty of lawyers was to defend the constitution always, Fagbemi called on everyone present at the occasion to lend their support to the complete actualisation of the autonomy of local governments in Nigeria, in line with the mandate of Tinubu.
He stated, “Most importantly, local governments must also wake up to their constitutional duties by being accountable to the citizens, constantly improving themselves in areas of administration and capacity building of their staff and constant community engagement to improve trust and transparency.
“There is no room for babysitting the third tier of the government any more. There must be concerted efforts by ALGON to continue to improve the technical capacities of local government workers across Nigeria to be able to rise up to the humongous task ahead of them.
“Local government councils must be seen to be alive, with a reformed civil service structure and executing more impactful projects that will bring respite to the people in the grassroots, for whose sake this fight was won.”
Adeleke at Meeting with British Diplomats, Accuses IGP of Executing Chaos in Councils
Adeleke during the meeting with top British diplomats accused Egbetokun of imposng illegality on local councils in the state.
Chairman, Osun State chapter of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Hon Sunday Bisi, alleged at a press conference that Egbetokun had mapped out plans to assassinate Adeleke.
Bisi said the governor’s instruction to restore peace and order, as chief security officer of Osun State, was flagrantly violated.
Adeleke told the British diplomats, led by the Deputy High Commissioner, Mr Jonny Baxter, “It is unfortunate and a disservice to democracy that the Inspector General of Police is colluding with the APC to enforce a non-existing court order.
“This is a serious threat to democracy in Nigeria.”
Adeleke, who reaffirmed his readiness for peace, free and fair elections on Saturday, said Osun faced a combined assault of the security forces, who, rather than protect rule of law, were busy aiding and abetting violations of the democratic process.
The governor stated, “You are in my state at a critical juncture in our political life. We face existential threat to our democratic life from those who should protect democracy.
“We have made the best of efforts to guarantee peace on the unfolding local government question. I directed members of the political class to stay away.
“But the opposition, supported by the police, went ahead to break into the local government secretariats. Security men openly supported them to enforce illegality.
“Nonetheless, our local government election is holding on Saturday. Our people are ready for elections. We will not allow democracy to be destroyed.”
Adeleke said, “We call on the diplomatic community to take judicious note of the rape of democracy ongoing in Osun State. We particularly call attention to the negative role of security agents in the crisis. All stakeholders must abide by rule of law in a democracy. There is no room for self help.”
British Deputy High Commissioner Jonny Baxter, in his remarks, stressed the importance of democratic processes and the rule of law. Baxter urged all political actors to prioritise peace and dialogue over conflict.
Baxter stated, “Nigeria is a key partner to the UK, and we encourage all stakeholders to uphold democratic values, ensure peaceful governance, and respect legal institutions.
“It is vital that law enforcement remains neutral and that political disputes are resolved through lawful channels.”
Baxter was accompanied by Katherine Fernandes, Second Secretary (Political) and Wale Adebajo, Senior Political Adviser.
The PDP state chairman said, “Osun State has been thrown into the cloudy side of the news in recent days, no thanks to the surreptitious activities of the Inspector General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun to destabilise the state with orchestrated violence obviously hatched in active connivance of his office and the opposition All Progressives Congress, banking on a non-existent court order as being brandished by the defeated APC in the state.
“Mr Egbetokun’s deliberate deployment of Special Forces under him to escort some miscreants into the local government councils in the state was nothing but a blatant coup and obviously one out of the many mapped out plans to assassinate the governor of our dear State, Senator Ademola Jackson Nurudeen Adeleke, whose instruction to restore peace and order, as the chief security officer of Osun State, was flagrantly violated by Mr Egbetokun.
“We understand that Governor of Osun State, Senator Ademola Adeleke, has been interfacing with Egbetokun, with the sole aim of ensuring peace after the fatal fracas on Monday, occasioned by forceful attempts by the sacked chairmen and councillors purportedly elected on the platform of opposition APC before the advent of PDP administration in the state.
“The whole world must warn and prevail on Mr Kayode Egbetokun to desist from being an enabler of orchestrated attempts on the life of our governor. This plans, we want to emphasise, have being on the cards of the APC in Osun State, since the good people of Osun State voted them out of office in 2022.”
The party chairman was referring to Oyetola.
House Seeks Law’s Position on Situation, APC Takes over Councils, Freezes Accounts
The House of Representatives called on the Attorney General of the Federation, Lateef Fagbemi, to properly advise all parties to the dispute over control of local governments on the true position of the law.
The House also encouraged aggrieved parties to seek judicial enforcement of rights rather than use of force
It condemned any resort to self-help, violence, killings and harassment by individuals and political interests in the state.
The resolutions of the House followed a motion sponsored by Hon. Bamidele Salam, and six others at the plenary yesterday.
Moving the motion, Salam expressed worry that the sacked officials were breaking the gates of their respective local government secretariats to forcefully take over the local government without any court order.
The House, in the resolution, “Condemns any resort to self-help, violence, killings and harassment by individuals and political interests in Osun State,
“Calls on the Inspector General of Police, DG DSS and other security heads to ensure normalcy and order is restored to all local governments in Osun State
“Urges the Attorney General of the Federation to properly advise all parties to the dispute in the control of local governments in Osun State as to the true position of the law and encourage aggrieved parties to seek judicial enforcement of rights rather than use of force.”
Meanwhile, no fewer than 20 local government secretariats had been taken over by the purportedly reinstated chairmen and councillors from APC in Osun State.
Adeleke had directed residents, including politicians across political divides, to stay away from the local government secretariats.
Similarly, the leadership of APC had directed its members, particularly council chairmen and councillors, to stay off their respective council secretariats until further notice.
But the local governments taken over were Atakunmosa West, Ilesa West, Obokun, Ilesa East, Ife East, Ifelodun, Orolu, Ejigbo, Oriade, Iwo, Ayedire, Boripe, Ife Central, Ife North, Ila, Ede South, Odo-Otin, Ola-Oluwa, and Atakumosa East
A top leader of APC, Senator Mudashiru Hussein, was alleged by Osun State chapter of PDP to have disclosed that security agencies had been directed by the presidency to accompany his party to take over local government secretariats.
But Hussein denied the allegation, saying he has no power to do so.
PDP alleged that in a leaked audio message to members of the party, Hussein had said APC members were to assemble at the police station in each local government where security agents would lead them to take over the councils.
The PDP state chairman, Bisi, reiterated Adeleke’s directive to PDP members to stay away from the council secretariats.
He also raised alarm about clandestine attempts to arrest PDP members ahead of the Saturday local government elections.
But following their resumption, the council chairmen and councillors immediately ordered the freezing of the various council accounts.
They warned Adeleke and others in charge of the council resources to steer clear of public funds, saying, “Any form of illegal transaction will have consequences.”
They also cautioned the state government and chairman of Osun State Independent Electoral Commission (OSSIEC) to shelve the planned local government election as there was no vacancy in any of the 30 councils for them to fix.
Addressing a press conference at Ilerioluwa Campaign Office, Osogbo, Chairman of Ifedayo Local Government Area, Hon. Abiodun Idowu, applauded President Bola Tinubu for his exemplary leadership and strict adherence to the rule of law. Idowu hailed the high sense of professionalism and commitment exhibited by the security agencies in the state.
Idowu, who is the Association of Local Government of Nigeria, ALGON Chairman, assured of their readiness to ensure good governance at the grassroots.
“Having returned to office, we want to reaffirm our commitment to serving our people more and our social contract to create job and wealth for the teeming youth of the state will be implemented without compromise.”
Osun Speaker Seeks Arrest, Prosecution of Illegal Occupants of Osun LG Secretariats
Speaker of Osun State House of Assembly, Hon. Olumide Egbedun, called on Egbetokun to act decisively to ensure the arrest and prosecution of all illegal occupants of the local government secretariats in the state.
Egbedun also made it cleared that local government elections scheduled for Saturday remained sacrosanct, and called on all eligible voters in the state to come out en masse to freely exercise their democratic right to vote for their preferred candidates.
The speaker stated that the arrest and prosecution of all individuals involved in the unlawful invasion were important.
He said the IGP should hold accountable any police officers, who facilitated or failed to prevent the illegal acts.
He stressed that Egbetokun should help restore public confidence in the neutrality of the Nigeria Police and prevent further escalation of violence and political intimidation. He said failure to act would only embolden those who sought to undermine democratic institutions.
Egbedun said, “The responsibility of the Nigeria Police Force is to serve and protect all Nigerians, not to take sides in political disputes. The people of Osun State demand and deserve fairness, impartiality, and professionalism from the security agencies.”
An Abuja-based legal practitioner and rights activist, Mr Pelumi Olajengbesi, warned the federal government and APC against forceful take-over of local government secretariats, stressing that such attempt would lead to unimaginable chaos.
Olajengbesi’s warning was predicated on move by APC to take over affairs at the Local Government Area Councils in the state; which resulted to the death of some persons.
Speaking with journalists in Abuja, Olajengbesi faulted the forceful takeover of the local governments in Osun by some groups linked to APC in the state.
The activist, who described the move as a coup, argued that even if the actors had judgement in their favour, it was completely wrong for them to take the laws into their hands under the guise of enforcing Court of Appeal judgement.
He insisted that there were procedures for judgement execution in the country, adding that the way the actors in the Osun local government crisis acted was in breach of laws and a usurpation of functions of those empowered to enforce court judgement.
