Osun 2022: Federal High Court Grants Babayemi’s Prayers, Overrules PDP

The application of the Osun State Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) factional gubernatorial candidate, Dotun Babayemi, for abridgement of time in a suit against the PDP, INEC and Senator Ademola Adeleke was on Wednesday granted by a Federal High Court sitting in Osogbo, Osun State capital.

As a result of this, the bid of the PDP to stop Babayemi’s application for the abridgement of time in the case was overruled by the court.

Babayemi, in a suit with No: FHC/OS/CyS/26/2022 and presided over by Justice N. Ayo-Emmanuel, is challenging that the respondents did not use the authentic party delegate list as ordered by the state High Court sitting in Ijebu-Jesa, presided over by Hon.Justice Adeyinka Aderibigbe. 

I.T Tewogbola represented PDP while  INEC and Senator Ademola Adeleke were not represented at the proceedings.

Mr Yusuf Ali (SAN), leading other counsels for the plaintiff, had applied for the abridgement of time so as to accelerate the hearing of the case and the counsel to PDP opposed the application which was overruled by the court.

To this effect, the court granted Babayemi’s prayers for the abridgement of time of 15 days for the respondents to file their respective responses while the applicant was given two days to file his further affidavit.

Consequently, Hon.Justice Ayo-Emmanuel adjourned the case to Wednesday, May 11, 2022, for the hearing of the substantive matter.

It is recalled that on March 3, 2022, an Osun State High Court sitting in Ijebu-Jesa, had authenticated the ward congress that produced 215 delegates under the then state chairman. On March 10, 2022, again, the same court pronounced that the PDP governorship primary election that produced Dotun Babayemi as the gubernatorial candidate was legally recognised because the delegates that voted for him were the ones backed by the law.