Ekiti tribunal adjourns election petition over alleged assault on SDP lawyer

By Boye Oyeyemi

The Ekiti State Governorship Election Petition Tribunal sitting in Ado-Ekiti has adjourned further hearing of the petition challenging the outcome of the June 20, 2026, governorship election following an application by the petitioners to move the proceedings out of the state.

The three-member tribunal, chaired by Justice Idris Kutigi, adjourned the matter until September 23, 2026, to allow the President of the Court of Appeal, Justice Monica Dongban-Mensem, to consider the request for a change of venue.

The application followed an alleged assault on counsel to the Social Democratic Party (SDP), Ebenezer Akinbuli, as well as claims that some witnesses were being prevented from attending the proceedings.

Counsel to Governor Biodun Oyebanji and the All Progressives Congress (APC), Adetunji Osho, SAN, said the petitioners’ lawyer appeared before the tribunal on Tuesday but could not present witnesses due to a crisis affecting the proceedings.

Osho said the respondents were surprised when they received a fresh application on Wednesday seeking another adjournment, adding that the petitioners had alleged that Akinbuli was assaulted and that some of their witnesses were being prevented from attending the hearing.

He explained that the petitioners had also approached the Court of Appeal president to request that the case be transferred from Ado-Ekiti to another venue considered safer, adding that the respondents had no choice but to accept the adjournment pending a decision on the application.

The development followed earlier delays in the presentation of witnesses by the SDP, with the tribunal expressing concern on Tuesday over what it described as unnecessary delays in the prosecution of the petition.

The petition arose from the June 20 governorship election won by Oyebanji of the APC, while the SDP and Action Alliance are among the parties challenging aspects of the election before the tribunal, which is expected to resume proceedings on September 23.