APC, SDP counsels clash at Ekiti Governorship Election Petitions Tribunal
Counsels to the All Progressives Congress, APC, and Social Democratic Party, SDP, on Thursday disagreed over the safety of lawyers and the relocation of the Ekiti State Governorship Election Petition Tribunal.
The disagreement followed fresh concerns raised by SDP counsel, Ebenezer Akinbuyi, over his safety while appearing before the tribunal sitting in Ado-Ekiti, the state capital.
Akinbuyi alleged that he was attacked by a crowd within the premises of the tribunal during an earlier sitting, resulting in an injury to one of his fingers.
He said the alleged incident prompted the SDP legal team to approach the President of the Court of Appeal, Justice Monica Dongban-Mensem, seeking the relocation of the proceedings to Abuja.
Speaking with journalists after Thursday’s proceedings, Akinbuyi said, “I don’t feel safe. I do not feel safe, and we do not feel safe because we have written to the President of the Court of Appeal to transfer this case to Abuja, to a safer place.”
However, the APC counsel, Adetunji Oso, disagreed with the SDP’s position on the relocation of the tribunal.
The development followed an earlier decision by the President of the Court of Appeal declining the request to relocate the tribunal from Ado-Ekiti.
Chairman of the three-member tribunal, Justice Abubakar Kutigi, had informed parties that the panel was properly constituted to continue hearing the petitions in Ado-Ekiti.
The tribunal had earlier adjourned proceedings after the SDP counsel was absent from the sitting and a letter was submitted seeking an adjournment pending a decision on the request to relocate the proceedings.
The APC had previously accused the petitioners of using repeated applications for adjournment to delay the hearing.
APC counsel, Kabir Akingbolu, had said, “There is confusion, so we need to clarify it. The SDP filed a petition, and the AA filed a petition.”
He added, “As it is today, they are secure. They are the ones that sought the adjournment.”
Akingbolu also questioned the basis of the petition challenging Governor Biodun Oyebanji’s victory, pointing to the margin of victory in the June 20, 2026 governorship election.
“It is an unprecedented petition. The success of the governor and the people is unprecedented. The 16 local governments and almost the entire 177 wards were won by the governor,” he said.
The SDP and Action Alliance (AA) are challenging Oyebanji’s victory at the tribunal.