RismadarVoice Reporters
September 23, 2026
The Court of Appeal has rejected a request by counsel to the Social Democratic Party (SDP), Ebenezer Akinbuli, to relocate the Ekiti State Governorship Election Petition Tribunal from its current venue over alleged security concerns.
The tribunal had earlier adjourned proceedings from September 16 to September 23 to allow the President of the Court of Appeal, Justice Monica Dongban-Mensem, to consider the request following an alleged assault involving the SDP’s counsel.
However, Akinbuli was absent from Wednesday’s proceedings, while another letter was reportedly submitted on behalf of the SDP seeking a further adjournment pending the determination of the request to relocate the sitting.
The Chairman of the three-member tribunal, Justice Abubakar Kutigi, informed parties that the President of the Court of Appeal had declined the request to transfer the proceedings.
Justice Kutigi said the tribunal remained properly constituted and could continue hearing the petitions.
Counsel to the All Progressives Congress (APC), Kabir Akingbolu, and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Bunmi Ipinlaiye, said they were unaware of the decision, saying they had not received the relevant order served through the tribunal’s secretary.
To allow all parties to clarify the position and avoid uncertainty, the tribunal adjourned proceedings to September 24.
Speaking with journalists after the proceedings, Akingbolu said the petitioners had again sought to have the tribunal moved from Ado-Ekiti to another location.
He clarified that the relocation request concerned the SDP’s petition and not the petition filed by the Action Alliance (AA).
According to him, the petitioners were also responsible for the latest adjournment, having filed letters requesting that proceedings be postponed in connection with the two petitions.
Akingbolu described the petition challenging Governor Biodun Oyebanji’s victory as unusual, pointing to the margin of victory and the distribution of votes across the state.
He claimed that Oyebanji won all 16 local government areas and most of the 177 wards in the state, while questioning the basis of the petitioners’ challenge.
The APC counsel also accused the petitioners of employing repeated adjournment requests to delay proceedings and urged them to concentrate on the substantive issues before the tribunal.
“There is confusion, so we need to clarify it. The SDP filed a petition, and the AA filed a petition,” Akingbolu said.
He added that the SDP had previously requested a change of venue on security grounds but maintained that the tribunal was currently secure.
Akingbolu further claimed that the election petition was unprecedented because, according to him, some of the petitioners recorded very low vote figures in the election.
“For me, I don’t think it is proper. We are here because this is litigation. If somebody writes that kind of petition when there is no ground, I think it is an illegal step,” he said.
The tribunal is expected to resume proceedings on September 24.
