Reported by: Oahimire Omone Precious | Edited by: Oravbiere Osayomore Promise.
The Ekiti State Governorship Election Petition Tribunal descended into chaos and acrimony on Monday and Tuesday, as the Social Democratic Party's legal challenge against Governor Biodun Oyebanji's re-election collapsed into a spectacle of internal betrayal, disappearing witnesses, and a visibly furious judge. The three-man tribunal, chaired by Justice Abubakar Idris Kutigi, publicly slammed the SDP and its counsel for what it described as a deliberate and unnecessary delay in the presentation of witnesses, describing the conduct of the petitioner's legal team as a waste of the tribunal's time.
The drama began on Monday, September 14, 2026, when Amb. Isaac Adedayo Alade, the SDP's governorship candidate and the second petitioner in the case, filed a motion on notice dated September 12 to withdraw his petition challenging Governor Oyebanji's victory in the June 20 election. His counsel, Umar Abdulhamid, informed the tribunal of the application. But Adewole Adebayo, the SDP's counsel and the party's 2027 presidential candidate, rose to describe the withdrawal as an "ambush," stating that the party had not been informed of Alade's intention to step aside. The tribunal, however, granted the application and struck Alade's name from the petition, leaving the SDP as the sole petitioner to prosecute the case. The PDP's candidate, Dr. Wole Oluyede, had already withdrawn his own petition during the tribunal's inaugural sitting the previous week, and the case was struck out accordingly.
The withdrawal exposed a deep and bitter rift within the SDP. As proceedings adjourned on Tuesday, the court premises became charged. SDP members who considered themselves the legitimate owners of the party made spirited efforts to attack those they described as "impostors" parading themselves as witnesses. Police officers on guard had to intervene quickly, urging the warring factions to leave the court premises and resolve their internal wranglings elsewhere. The scene was a replica of the internal crisis that had played out the previous day when the party's candidate withdrew his case without the party's approval.
But the most damning moment came when Justice Kutigi could no longer contain his frustration. His anger was directed at the petitioner's counsel, Ebenezer Akingbule, who stood in for the lead counsel, Adebayo Adewole. Akingbule had told the tribunal that his witnesses were ready, only to then seek an adjournment when it became clear that they were not available. The judge did not hide his disappointment. "We can't continue to indulge you or allow you to tender apology over flimsy excuses. You can't continue to waste the time of the court here. Why are you behaving as if you are not ready for this case?" Kutigi asked. He emphasised that any serious legal practitioner should have put his house in order and known the volume and serial numbers of exhibits and witnesses. "Do you think we are here to play?" he demanded. "You are deliberately wasting our time because you knew that your witnesses are not around. You knew that the petitioner has internal crisis."
The judge's patience finally snapped when he declared that the tribunal would no longer indulge the SDP's counsel. "We are not going to indulge you again," he warned, making it clear that the case could not be stalled indefinitely. He advised the counsel that if he knew his witnesses could not be produced, he should close his case within a reasonable time rather than waste the tribunal's time with repeated adjournments. The tribunal ultimately granted the adjournment sought by the counsel, but the damage to the SDP's credibility had already been done.
The SDP's case, which challenges the conduct of the June 20 election on the grounds that it did not substantially comply with the provisions of the Electoral Act 2026, now hangs by a thread. With the candidate gone, the PDP's petition already withdrawn, and the party's own witnesses unable to appear, the SDP is left to prosecute a case that appears to be disintegrating before the tribunal's eyes. The party's counsel has maintained that the case can still proceed, but the tribunal has made it clear that it will not tolerate further delays. For Governor Oyebanji, whose victory has already been affirmed by the withdrawal of two petitions, the latest developments are a welcome reprieve. For the SDP, they are a stark reminder that internal unity is as important as legal argument in the battle for electoral justice.
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