The National Assembly Election Petition Tribunal sitting in Ibadan, Oyo State, over the Ikenne/Sagamu/Remo Federal Constituency Election of August 16, 2025, in its ruling on Wednesday, struck out the petition of the 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 Prof Taiwo Osipitan, SAN, counsel for Elegbeji Ayoola Adesola, and Dr Remi Olatubora SAN, counsel for APC opposed the application for adjournment and urged the Tribunal to dismiss the petition for want of diligent prosecution.
The Tribunal, after hearing the arguments for and against the application for adjournment, adjourned its ruling until today, November 12, 2025.
It will be recalled that at the sitting of the Tribunal on Monday, November 10, 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, and thereby applied for an adjournment to November 17, 2025.
The counsels to the two respondents opposed the petitioner counsel’s application for adjournment and urged the Tribunal to strike out the petition for lack of diligent prosecution.
Meanwhile, the Tribunal refused to strike out the petition on that day. It graciously adjourned the case until November 17, 2025, urging the petitioner’s counsel to ensure that the petitioner’s sole witness was present at the Tribunal to testify. Unfortunately, the sole witness failed to show up at the court, resulting in the ruling on Wednesday.
Based on today’s ruling of the Tribunal, Elegbeji Ayoola Adesola is now left with PDP’s petition to contend with.