The Ondo State Commissioner for Finance, Mrs. Omowunmi Isaac, has sued a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), Adekola Olawoye, and 34 other elders of the All Progressives Congress (APC) at the state High Court over alleged libel.
The suit, pending before Justice Yemi Fasanmi, stems from a publication the claimant alleges was defamatory and damaging to her reputation.
Speaking with journalists after court proceedings, Olawoye, the first defendant in the suit, said he and his co-defendants appeared in court to move a preliminary objection challenging the jurisdiction of the court and the competence of the claimant’s processes.
However, he noted that they could not proceed after the claimant filed an application seeking to amend her court processes.
‘We came here with the intention to move our preliminary objection, challenging the jurisdiction and competency of the process filed by the claimants. Unfortunately, they brought an application to correct some of the defects. We allowed them to move the application, and the court awarded N3.5 million costs in our favour,’ Olawoye said.
The SAN explained that the dispute arose from a letter he authored and sent to the National Chairman of the APC, outlining what he described as recent developments within the party in their local government area.
He maintained that the letter was lawfully addressed to party leadership and was not intended as a defamatory publication.
Olawoye also disclosed that before instituting the civil action, the claimant had petitioned the Inspector-General of Police over the same allegations.
According to him, the defendants honoured an invitation by a special police team in Abuja-where both parties presented their positions-after which the defendants were neither detained nor charged.
He added that attempts had been made to resolve the dispute amicably, as both parties belong to the APC and hail from the same community, but those efforts proved unsuccessful.
‘As an elder of the party, I will always accommodate settlement. We made moves and spoke with relevant authorities in the state, but they felt otherwise. If they give room for settlement, all well and good,’ he added.
However, counsel to the claimant, Olaoluwa Imoru, argued that the suit was based on an allegedly libellous publication authored by Olawoye and published in the Nigerian Tribune on February 2, 2026.
He stated that his client is asking the court to declare the publication defamatory, award aggravated, special, and general damages, and compel the defendants to publish a full retraction and apology.
According to Imoru, one of the statements in question allegedly referred to Mrs. Isaac as ‘the governor’s mummy’-a description he argued falsely suggested she exercised undue influence over Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa.
Justice Yemi Fasanmi subsequently adjourned the matter to October 8, 2026, for further proceedings.