Rights groups urge Tinubu to declare state of emergency in Osun
By Deborah Oladejo, Osogbo –
A coalition of civil rights organisations in Osun State has called on President Bola Tinubu to declare a state of emergency in the state over what it described as a collapse of constitutional order in the administration of local governments.
The groups — Initiative for Local Government Development (ILGD), Centre for Justice and Community Advocacy, Nigeria (CJCAN), and Centre for Justice Initiative (CJI) — made the call at a press conference on Saturday, saying the move was necessary to restore legality and protect lives at the grassroots.
The spokesperson for ILGD, Comrade Kanyinsola Adebayo, accused the Osun State Government under Governor Ademola Adeleke of deliberately disregarding judgments of the Supreme Court and the Court of Appeal affirming APC-led chairmen and councillors as lawful local government officials.
He alleged that the state government had misinterpreted and refused to give effect to the judgments, while unlawfully interfering in local government administration and misleading the public through selective interpretations of court rulings.
According to Adebayo, the situation has weakened confidence in the judiciary, incited hostility against legally recognised officials and contributed directly to insecurity, which he said had already resulted in the loss of innocent lives.
“We must state clearly and without equivocation that the refusal of Governor Ademola Adeleke to obey the judgment of the Court of Appeal has created the atmosphere of violence that led to these deaths,” he alleged.
The Secretary of ILGD, Ayomide Adeniyi, cited Section 305 of the 1999 Constitution as empowering the President to declare a state of emergency to restore public order where governance can no longer be carried out in accordance with the Constitution.
Meanwhile, the Secretary General of CJCAN, Comrade Amusa Opeyemi, called on the Nigerian Senate to approve a state of emergency in Osun and urged the Inspector-General of Police to prosecute all those involved in the killing of Remi Abass.
