The National Assembly Election Petition Tribunal sitting in Ibadan, Oyo State over the Ikenne/Sagamu/Remo Federal Constituency Election of 16th August, 2025, in its ruling on Wednesday struck out the petition of Social Democratic Party (SDP) for want of diligent prosecution.
Counsel to the petitioner, Mr Ebenezer Akingbuli, had informed the Tribunal on Tuesday that his witness was not in Court again for the second time and applied for adjournment, in which Taiwo Osipitan, a professor and Senior Advocate of Nigeria SAN, counsel for Elegbeji Ayoola Adesola, and Dr Remi Olatubora SAN, counsel for All Progressives Congress (APC) opposed the application for adjournment and urged the Tribunal to dismiss the petition for want of diligent prosecution.
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The Tribunal, after listening to the arguments for and against the application for adjournment, thereafter adjourned its ruling to today 12th November 2025. It will be recalled that at the sitting of the Tribunal on Monday 10th November 2025, the petitioner, based on the Tribunal’s pre-report and scheduling was required to call its sole witness In the Tribunal’s pre-hearing report, the petitioner was assigned 10th and 11th November 2025 for the presentation of its case.
However, the counsel to the petitioner, informed the Tribunal in the proceedings of Monday that the petitioner’s sole witness was indisposed, thereby applied for adjournment to 17th November 2025. Counsels to the two respondents opposed the petitioner Counsel’s application for adjournment and urged the Tribunal to strike out the petition for want of diligent prosecution.
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Meanwhile, Tribunal refused to strike out the petition on that day and graciously adjourned the case to 11th November 2025, urging the petitioner’s counsel to ensure that the petitioner’s sole witness attended the Tribunal to testify. Unfortunately, the sole witness failed to show up at the court thereby resulting to the ruling of Wednesday. Based on today’s ruling of the Tribunal, Elegbeji Ayoola Adesola is now left with PDP’s petition to contend with.
