Three senior members of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) have petitioned the National Judicial Council (NJC), urging disciplinary action against A.L. Akintola, a judge of the Oyo State High Court, over alleged judicial misconduct and abuse of office.
The PDP members — Austin Nwachukwu, Amah Nnanna, and Turnah George — are plaintiffs in an ongoing case before the federal high court in Abuja, referenced as suit no: FHC/ABJ/CS/2120/2025.
The federal high court had earlier issued a restraining order preventing the PDP from conducting its national elective convention scheduled for November 15 and 16 in Ibadan, the Oyo State capital.
However, on November 4, the Oyo State High Court issued a conflicting directive, instructing the PDP and its national chairman, Umar Damagum, to proceed with the convention as planned.
In their petition to the NJC, Nwachukwu, Nnanna, and George — who are believed to be allies of Nyesom Wike, minister of the federal capital territory (FCT), known for opposing the convention — accused Akintola of granting an ex parte order that contradicted an existing judgment of the federal high court.
They described Akintola’s action as “judicial indiscretion and abuse of office”.
“Even a non-lawyer knows that a State High Court lacks the authority to function as an appellate Court over a decision of the Federal High Court,” the petition reads.
“Therefore, the Ex-Parte Order made by Justice A.L. Akintola, despite the conclusive determination of a similar Suit at the Federal High Court with finality, undermines and further casts aspersions on the Judicial Reforms being championed by the Chief Justice of Nigeria.
“By Justice A.L. Akintola’s Ex-Parte Order, his lordship had thus appointed and constituted himself into an appellate Court and had sat on appeal over the judgment of the Federal High Court and varied same via an Ex-Parte Order.
“His lordship cannot feign ignorance of the judgment of the Federal High Court on the same subject matter because Justice Omotosho’s judgment was not only widely televised on many National Media Houses like NTA, TVC, Arise News, Channels Television and others but also circulated and reported on many National Dailies like Daily Trust Newspaper, The Nation as well as other online News Media.”
The petitioners called on the NJC to investigate Akintola’s conduct and “ensure judicial space is sanitised”.