Appeal Court Slams Olawunmi, Rejects Bid to Halt Judgment in Ekiti APC Case

... As Court Fines Her N6m Over ‘Reckless’ Application 

By Joseph Sunday 

The Court of Appeal in Abuja on Wednesday has thrown out an application by the All Progressives Congress governorship aspirant, Mrs Abimbola Olajumoke Olawunmi, seeking to stop the court from delivering judgment in her case against the party’s Ekiti governorship primary. 

A three-member panel described the application, filed by her new counsel, Ebun Olu Adegboruwa, SAN, as “strange, hopeless, reckless and an unpardonable abuse of the judicial process.”

Justice Okon Abang, delivering the lead ruling, said it was odd that Olawunmi would ask the court to reopen her appeal after it had already been heard and judgment reserved. 

She claimed she had just engaged Adegboruwa, sacked her former lawyer Chief Ayotunde Ogunleye, SAN, and now wanted to amend her brief of argument for exceeding the page limit.

The judge recalled that Olawunmi was present on June 2 when her appeal and application to regularise her brief were heard. Ruling and judgment were reserved that day. He said she cannot turn around to set aside proceedings that were lawfully conducted or argue her appeal in bits.

“This is a clear attempt to arrest the ruling and judgment of the court that have been reserved. This cannot take place under our watch,” Justice Abang said.

The panel held that Olawunmi had been given sufficient opportunity to argue her case and could not claim denial of fair hearing. It dismissed the application, calling it a waste of the court’s time and intended to overreach the respondents.

The court imposed a N6 million cost on her, payable at N2 million each to the APC, INEC, and Governor Abiodun Oyebanji.

Olawunmi had been disqualified from the APC governorship race in Ekiti. She challenged the decision at the Federal High Court in Abuja, lost, and then appealed. The Appeal Court heard the appeal on June 2 and reserved judgment. She filed the latest application on June 8.

The court said the reserved ruling and judgment in the main appeal, marked CA/ABJ/CV/557/2026, will be delivered at 11 am on Thursday.