Ondo APC Rift Deepens as Finance Commissioner Drags 35 Party Leaders to Court Over Libel

The crisis rocking the Ondo State chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC) has taken a legal turn after the state’s Commissioner for Finance, Mrs. Omowunmi Isaac, instituted a libel suit against a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), Adekola Olawoye, and 34 other party elders.

The suit, pending before Justice Yemi Fasanmi of the Ondo State High Court, centres on an alleged defamatory publication which the commissioner said damaged her reputation.

Proceedings in the matter on Tuesday were, however, stalled after the claimant sought to amend her court processes, preventing the defendants from arguing a preliminary objection challenging the court’s jurisdiction and the competence of the suit.

Addressing journalists after the proceedings, Olawoye said he and the other defendants had appeared in court to contest the suit but were unable to proceed because of the claimant’s application.

“We came here with the intention to move our preliminary objection, challenging the jurisdiction and competency of the process filed by the claimant. Unfortunately, they brought an application to correct some of the defects. We allowed them to move the application, and the court awarded N3.5 million costs in our favour,” he said.

The senior lawyer explained that the dispute stemmed from a letter he wrote to the APC National Chairman, detailing what he described as developments within the party in their local government area.

According to him, the correspondence was intended solely for the party leadership and could not be regarded as a defamatory publication.

Olawoye further disclosed that before filing the civil action, the commissioner had petitioned the Inspector-General of Police over the same allegations.

He said the defendants honoured an invitation by a special police investigative team in Abuja, where both sides presented their positions, adding that none of the defendants was detained or prosecuted after the exercise.

The SAN also revealed that efforts had been made to resolve the dispute outside the courtroom because both parties belong to the APC and come from the same community, but the reconciliation moves failed.

“As an elder of the party, I will always accommodate settlement. We made moves and spoke with relevant authorities in the state, but they felt otherwise. If they give room for settlement, all well and good,” he said.

Counsel to the claimant, Olaoluwa Imoru, maintained that the action arose from an allegedly libellous publication authored by Olawoye and published in the *Nigerian Tribune* on February 2, 2026.

He said the commissioner is asking the court to declare the publication defamatory, award aggravated, special and general damages, and order the defendants to publish a full retraction and apology.

Imoru argued that one of the statements complained of described Mrs. Isaac as “the governor’s mummy,” a reference he said falsely portrayed her as wielding undue influence over Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa.

After hearing the applications, Justice Fasanmi adjourned the case until October 8, 2026, for further proceedings.