Ekiti 2026: SDP Lawyer Stays Away from Tribunal as Court Refuses Venue Change

The fight over the June 20, 2026, Ekiti State governorship election took a new turn on Wednesday. Ebenezer Akinbuli, the lawyer for the Social Democratic Party (SDP), did not show up for the Ekiti State Governorship Election Petition Tribunal. He said he was worried about security after past court appearances.

The tribunal is meeting at the High Court Complex in Ado-Ekiti, the state capital. It had pushed back proceedings from September 16 to September 23. This was to allow the President of the Court of Appeal to look into the petitioners' request to move the venue after an alleged attack on the SDP lawyer.

Akinbuli was absent during the sitting. He sent a letter to the court asking for a delay in the hearing until the appellate court responded to his request to change the hearing location.

During the session, the head of the three-person tribunal, Abubakar Kutigi, said that Monica Dongban-Mensem, the President of the Court of Appeal, refused to move the venue. He added that the tribunal was set up correctly to continue hearing the petitions.

The lawyers for the All Progressives Congress (APC), Kabir Akingbolu, and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Bunmi Ipinlaiye, claimed they did not know about the order from the Court of Appeal. Mr Kutigi then adjourned the case to September 24 to continue the hearing and address any confusion.

After the hearing, Akingbolu told reporters that the petitioners still wanted the tribunal to move from Ado-Ekiti. He stressed that this request was about the SDP's petition and not the Action Alliance (AA) case.

Akingbolu also accused the petitioners of causing the latest adjournment. He said this request was included in letters filed for both election petitions. He called the petition against Governor Biodun Oyebanji’s victory unusual, saying the election results made it stand out.

According to him, the governor won in all 16 local government areas and most of the 177 wards in the state. He questioned why the petitioners were challenging the election results, noting that they had very low vote counts.

Akingbolu further claimed the petitioners were using different tactics to delay the process, including asking for multiple adjournments. He urged them to focus on the main issues before the tribunal.

"There is confusion, so we need to clarify it: the SDP and the AA filed petitions. On the last adjourned day, September 16, the SDP lawyer filed a petition saying there was no security and that the tribunal's venue should move to Abuja or another place.

"Right now, they are secure. They are the ones who asked for the adjournment. The court has now pushed the matter to tomorrow for continuation at the request of the petitioner, who filed the petition and a letter for an adjournment for both election petitions.

"This is an unusual petition. The governor's success and the people's support are uncommon. The governor won 16 local governments and almost all 177 wards.

"The petitioners did not face any pushback from the people who filed the petition. None of the political parties received more than 200 votes. It has never happened in Nigeria that someone who didn’t score thousands or even hundreds would file an election petition.

"For me, I don’t think it is right. We are here because this is legal action. If someone writes that kind of petition without a solid basis, I believe it is an illegal move," Akingbolu said.