Yoruba Group, Ilana Omo Oodua Files Lawsuit Against INEC, Attorney-General Malami To Halt Osun, Ekiti Governorship Elections

The activists’ lawyer, Tolu Babaleye, filed the lawsuit on their behalf before the Federal High Courts in Ado-Ekiti and Osogbo, on behalf of Prof Banji Akintoye, his deputy, Prof Wale Adeniran, Chief Bayo Orire, and 15 others.

Ilana Omo Oodua Worldwide, an umbrella organization of Yoruba self-determination groups, has filed a lawsuit against the Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF), Abubakar Malami, and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) (INEC).
The activists’ lawyer, Tolu Babaleye, filed the lawsuit on their behalf before the Federal High Courts in Ado-Ekiti and Osogbo, on behalf of Prof Banji Akintoye, his deputy, Prof Wale Adeniran, Chief Bayo Orire, and 15 others.
The lawsuit seeks a declaration that Nigeria’s current constitution, enacted in 1999, is illegal, invalid, and unenforceable because “no referendum was held before it was enacted.”
It also calls for the total decommissioning of Nigeria’s 1999 constitution in order to allow for a referendum in which Yoruba Land’s indigenous people can decide on their nationhood first and foremost.
The information was contained in a statement sent to SaharaReporters on Wednesday by Maxwell Adeleye, the Communications Secretary of Ilana Omo Oodua Worldwide.
The activists are requesting a “categorical order that, against the backdrop that the current Nigerian Constitution is illegal and invalid, because no referendum was held before it was enacted,” according to the statement.

INEC lacks the legal authority to conduct elections anywhere in Yoruba Land, a Nigerian region. As a result, the upcoming governorship elections in Ekiti and Osun, as well as all future elections in Yoruba Land, should be postponed until a referendum is held for the Yoruba people to decide on the system they want within Nigeria and whether they even want to remain Nigerians.”
“We are demanding that whether by virtue of the Preamble to the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as Amended), which states: ‘WE THE PEOPLE of the Federal Republic of Nigeria HAVING firmly and solemnly resolved to live in unity and harmony as one indivisible and indissoluble sovereign Nation under God dedicated to the promotion of inter-African solidarity, world peace, international cooperation and understanding: AND TO PROVIDE FOR THE PROMOTION OF INTERNATIONAL COOPERATION
“A Declaration that the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as Amended) is invalid, illegal, and of no effect whatsoever due to its failure to satisfy the essential requirements of referendum and national consensus expected of a valid Constitution,” the claimants said.
A declaration that the preamble/introductory passage to the 1999 Constitution inserted into the Constitution by the Military Government, which states “we the people of Nigeria have resolved to give ourselves a Constitution,” is a lie, because the Military Government came up with the document and imposed it on the Nigerian people without any contribution from the Nigerian people; as a result, the Constitution is illegal, invalid, and null.
“An Order of this Honourable Court stopping the holding of the scheduled Ekiti State Governorship election coming up in June, 2022 from being held as there is no valid legal framework for such an exercise because the 1999 Constitution (As Amended) under

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“An Order of this Honourable Court directing the Defendants jointly and severally to stay clear of Ekiti and Osun States in June and July 2022 and suspending with immediate effect the plans and arrangements they have put in place to conduct such an illegal election in Ekiti and Osun states of Nigeria,” Adeleye said on behalf of Ilana Omo Oodua Worldwide in a statement.
Meanwhile, the group has urged all Yoruba people, particularly self-determination activists in Ekiti and Osun states, to appear in court in Osogbo and Ado-Ekiti whenever the cases are called for hearing.
“This is a clarion call to our people within and outside Yoruba Land that it is time to put our personal interests aside for the sake of our land’s overall interest.”
“If we miss this historic opportunity to salvage our land and restore our stolen nationhood, history and posterity will never be kind to us.” We must all come out in large numbers to show solidarity in this case, peacefully and legally, because the Yoruba people face a historic decision.”