The Court of Appeal declined the application of the APC to release an appeal that was dismissed on January 13, 2025.
The Court of Appeal declined the application of the APC to release an appeal that was dismissed on January 13, 2025. The reason for dismissal at that time was that the appeal had not been diligently prosecuted, and the court reaffirmed this decision today. However, the court did not stop there. It referenced a subsequent decision made by the same court on February 10, 2025, in which Honorable Justice JCA stated that releasing the earlier dismissed appeal would create confusion or lead the court to revisit a matter that had already been decided on February 10.
The question then arises: what was decided on February 10, 2025? In a different judgment, the Court of Appeal reinstated the chairmen of the local governments in Oyo State by specifically ruling that Honorable Justice Emanuel of the Federal High Court in Osogbo lacked jurisdiction to remove those local government chairmen in the first place.
Given that the Court of Appeal referred to this earlier judgment during today’s session and declined an attempt to lure it into overturning or reconsidering it, one might wonderinterpretations are suggestingsting that the Court of Appeal has removed those currently occupying the position of local government chairmen legitimately. This perceived confusion would only serve mischief.
In essence, today’s ruling from the Court of Appeal was simply a refusal to release an appeal that, in my opinion, was unfounded from the beginning. As we know, both parties involved in the suit appear divided over the interpretation of the ruling. I find myself questioning why they have not been asserting their claims concerning this ruling, leading to such a significant division. How do we move forward from this point, especially considering that the court has not explicitly stated whether a specific group was reinstated, causing further confusion among the public?
Unfortunately, as I indicated earlier, I believe the ongoing controversy is a deliberate attempt by certain individuals to mislead the public. The confusion does not stem from today’s court decision, which is straightforward: "We are not releasing this appeal." The court made it clear that releasing the appeal would waste time and that a subsequent ruling had already addressed the same subject matter. The court expressed its refusal to be misled, stating that releasing the appeal would create confusion.
Therefore, the controversy we are witnessing is largely unnecessary and appears to be an attempt by some to manipulate public perception. As it stands, the judgment delivered by the Court of Appeal on February 10, which reinstated the legitimate chairmen, remains valid. Unfortunately, the party that lost in that appeal did not file an appeal against the judgment to the Supreme Court, making that judgment currently sacrosanct.
