The Ekiti State Governorship Election Petition Tribunal has adjourned further proceedings in the case challenging the outcome of the 2026 governorship election amid a request by the petitioners to have the matter transferred out of the state.
The three-member tribunal, chaired by Justice Abubakar Kutigi, fixed September 23, 2026, for the next hearing after the petitioners applied to the President of the Court of Appeal for the proceedings to be moved to another location they consider safe.
The application followed an allegation that counsel representing the Social Democratic Party (SDP) in the petition, Ebenezer Akinbuli, was assaulted and that some witnesses had encountered difficulties appearing before the tribunal.
Speaking to journalists in Ado-Ekiti after the proceedings, Adetunji Osho (SAN), counsel to the All Progressives Congress (APC) and Governor Biodun Oyebanji, said the development led to the adjournment.
According to Osho, Akinbuli had appeared before the tribunal on Tuesday and informed the court that circumstances arising from the situation in the area had made it difficult for him to bring his witnesses.
He said the petitioners subsequently requested an adjournment, noting that the respondents had seen Akinbuli and some of the witnesses at the tribunal premises that day.
Osho said the respondents were therefore taken by surprise when they received a fresh request for an adjournment on Wednesday, this time on the grounds that the petitioners’ lawyer had allegedly been assaulted and that some witnesses were being prevented from attending the proceedings.
He added that the petitioners had also approached the President of the Court of Appeal with a formal request for the case to be transferred from Ekiti State.
The tribunal, according to Osho, decided to suspend further hearing until September 23 to allow the Court of Appeal leadership to consider the venue-transfer application.
He explained that the respondents agreed to the adjournment while awaiting the decision on whether the proceedings would remain in Ado-Ekiti or be moved elsewhere.
The hearing of the governorship petition began on September 8, with proceedings initially scheduled to continue on a day-to-day basis.
The petition before the tribunal concerns the result of the 2026 Ekiti State governorship election, while the latest development centres on the petitioners’ request for a change of venue following the alleged incident involving their counsel.
The tribunal is expected to determine its next steps after the President of the Court of Appeal rules on the application for a transfer.
