Counsel for the Social Democratic Party, Ebenezer Akinbuyi, and his All Progressives Congress counterpart, Adetunji Oso, disagreed on Thursday over the proposed relocation of the Ekiti State Governorship Election Petition Tribunal from Ado-Ekiti to Abuja.
While Akinbuyi insisted that he and his clients were still awaiting a decision on their request to move the tribunal on security grounds, Oso maintained that the President of the Court of Appeal, Justice Monica Dongban-Mensem, had already directed that the petitions should continue to be heard in Ado-Ekiti.
The disagreement followed fresh concerns raised by the SDP counsel about his safety at the tribunal premises.
Speaking with journalists after Thursday’s proceedings, Akinbuyi alleged that he was attacked by a crowd within the court premises, resulting in an injury to one of his fingers.
He said he underwent an X-ray at the State Hospital and was placed on medication, adding that the alleged incident informed the petitioners’ request to transfer the proceedings to Abuja.
‘I don’t feel safe. I do not feel safe, and we do not feel safe because we have written to the President of the Court of Appeal to transfer this case to Abuja, to a safer place,’ Akinbuyi said.
He also alleged that his principal, Adewole Adebayo, had previously been molested within the court premises and claimed that APC agents had, on another occasion, barricaded the main entrance, preventing some witnesses from gaining access to the tribunal.
The APC counsel, however, rejected the allegations, insisting that the President of the Court of Appeal had directed that both petitions should continue in Ado-Ekiti.
‘That is not true. The President of the Court of Appeal had directed that the hearing of the petitions in both cases should continue in Ado-Ekiti. That is why we are sitting here. That is why there was a hearing today,’ Oso said.
The tribunal nonetheless proceeded with the hearing, with the SDP counsel calling six witnesses, who were cross-examined by counsel for the Independent National Electoral Commission and the APC.
The chairman of the three-member tribunal, Justice Abubakar Kutigi, subsequently adjourned the proceedings until Friday, September 25, for continuation.
The tribunal is hearing petitions challenging the outcome of the June 20, 2026 governorship election won by APC Governor Biodun Oyebanji.