A civil society organisation and election observer, Yiaga Africa, has urged journalists to educate voters in Osun State on the new electoral innovations to be deployed by the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, during Saturday’s governorship election.

Samson Itodo, Executive Director of Yiaga Africa, gave the charge in Osogbo on Wednesday at a workshop organised for journalists on Election Results Management.

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Nworie, a former PDP chairman in the state, defected to the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC, soon after the 2023 general elections on personal grounds.

He was recently attacked alongside his supporters and journalists in Ikwuator village, Idemba community in Ezza South Local Government Area of the state by over 50 thugs suspected to be working for the APC.

The thugs reportedly disrupted a rally organised by the PDP to announce his defection from the APC back to the PDP in the state, Nworie alleged

The event, originally billed to take place at the village square in Idemba community was moved to his compound when the thugs allegedly stormed the venue and disrupted it, destroying plastic chairs, canopies, and other property and attacking any person suspected to be attending the rally.

The thugs, who also inflicted injuries on 10 members of the PDP, also attacked journalists who came to cover the event.

The PDP stalwart alleged that men of the Ebonyi Police Command watched while the thugs stormed the venue and attacked members of the party, his loyalists while also destroyed valuable property.

He said the situation was pathetic, despite having written to the Command, notified it of the event and requested adequate security.

“The police watched as the thugs stormed the venue and attacked me, beat my supporters and disrupted the rally,” Nworie alleged.

“Instead of the police that I wrote to and notified to provide security for me and other PDP members to protect us, they couldnt provide the needed security. They stood and idled around while we were attacked,” he lamented.

The alleged letter dated July 31, 2026, sent to the command, was made available to journalists, on Wednesday and read, “I am the former Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, in Ebonyi State for the 2021-2023 general elections and had previously abandoned the party after but now decided to go back due to my relationship with the present gubernatorial flag bearer.

“The party from the national excos, as well as the state excos and leaders, down to the ward level will officially receive me at my ward in Onuoriegu Ikwuator Idemba Ward in Ezza South Local Government Area of Ebonyi State on Saturday, August 1st, 2026 by 10:30a.m.

“Due to this, I have received a chain of threats to my life, as well as my loyalists and our national and state officers, including very important people coming from far and near.

“It is against this background that I passionately applied for adequate security coverage, personnel from your good office to avoid the breakdown of law and order from those threatening me and this program. I am a law-abiding citizen, sir.”

However, the Ebonyi State Police Command, on Wednesday, denied ever receiving any letter or petition from the PDP in the state.

In a statement signed by the Command’s spokesperson, SP Joshua Ukandu, it said no petition was submitted to it for either a notification of an event or protection.

“The command wishes to state unequivocally that no petition relating to any of the alleged attacks has been received by the Ebonyi police command,” he said.

Meanwhile, the APC in the state has denied the attack. The Chairman of the APC, Stanley Okoro Emegha, alleged that those who may be uncomfortable with the political behaviour of Ifeanyi Nworie may be responsible for the attack and not the APC

He said: “So far, as it has to do with the APC in Ebonyi State, we watch the body language of our governor, he doesn’t want to offend anyone.

“As such, we must toe his path. There is no time the APC will have a hand in violence because you know that if you get into such act, the governor will abandon you.

In his lead judgment, Justice Fadawu Umaru declared the judgment of Justice M.G. Umar in Suit No. FHC/ABJ/CS/402/2026 null and void.

The development followed an appeal filed by the SDP leadership under Prof Abubakar Sadiq Gombe against the Federal High Court judgment recognising Gabam as the party’s National Chairman.

The Court of Appeal held that the basis upon which the Federal High Court delivered its judgment was faulty, noting that the Supreme Court had already ruled on the matter in favour of Sadiq’s leadership.

Speaking after the judgment, SDP presidential candidate and counsel to the appellants, Prince Adewole Adebayo, said the appellate court unanimously ruled in favour of the SDP in all six applications considered during the proceedings.

He said the Court of Appeal also declared the Federal High Court judgment recognising Gabam null and void because it contradicted an earlier decision of the Supreme Court.

“Today, the Court of Appeal set aside the Federal High Court judgment which our former National Chairman and former and expelled member, Mr Shehu Musa Gabam, was using to compel INEC to recognise him as National Chairman, even though he has been expelled from the party, and to recognise another expelled former member as an acting National Secretary,” Adebayo said.

“In Today’s judgment by the Court of Appeal, six applications by the parties were considered, and the Court of Appeal unanimously ruled in favour of the SDP in all the applications.

“And the substantive appeal, the Court of Appeal took two decisions.

“One, that the judgment of the court recognising Shehu Gabam of the Federal High Court is null and void; it’s a nullity because it contradicts the decision earlier delivered by the Supreme Court on May 22, 2026, and no court in Nigeria and no person in Nigeria can contradict the Supreme Court.

“So, to the extent that the judge, Justice Umar of the Federal High Court, even entertained any question about the leadership of the SDP or even the opportunity to recognise our court hearing to Shehu Gabam and his team, it is null and void.

“Secondly, the court affirmed that Ajala, Dr Francis Ajala, having been nominated by the SDP as its governorship candidate in Osun State, the Federal High Court was wrong to even listen to the plaintiff, Salahu, who claims to be the SDP candidate for Gabam.”

Adebayo described the judgment as the conclusion of a prolonged legal battle over the leadership of the party.

He said the judiciary had played a significant role in resolving the dispute and providing guidance to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

“That’s the summary of the long four hours of delivery. And you have to note that prior to these six rulings being made Today and the judgment of the Court of Appeal, last week the court itself had entertained a lot of applications,” he said.

“So, the judiciary has done very well for Nigeria and has guided INEC very well.

“I can tell you categorically, subject to the will of God, you will never hear of any leadership dispute in the SDP for the next 100 years. That is over and settled.

“It is how to get rid of Tinubu and his calamitous government that is now the agenda before the party and the people of Nigeria,” he said.

Also speaking, SDP National Chairman, Prof. Gombe, commended the judiciary for what he described as the expedited resolution of the case.

Gombe said INEC should respect the internal affairs and candidate-selection decisions of all registered political parties.

He said, “I hope, just as the presidential candidate, and I hope just as Dr Adebayo has said, he has said it all about the ruling, about what is the needful that INEC is supposed to do.

“And INEC will not just—we are not just calling on INEC to respect SDP alone, to respect all the political parties, the 22 registered political parties, and respect their internal affairs, respect their decisions about candidate selection and whatsoever.

“And I also want to use the opportunity to thank the judiciary for the expeditious way they were able to carry out this judgment in just about four or five days.

“And also, I want to use this opportunity to most profoundly thank our presidential candidate, who led the legal team, for the wonderful job they have done for the party, not just for the party but for our democracy and our nation.

“Indeed, this is something that will affect not only democracy in Nigeria but in other countries in Africa.

“Nigeria is not just for Nigeria in Africa. Nigeria, just like Nelson Mandela said, if we have exactly the right in Nigeria, we are going to get the right in Africa and the Black Nation are going to get the right.

“So, I would also use this opportunity to thank INEC for being ahead and doing the task of reproducing the ballot and including the SDP candidate even before Today’s meeting.

“Finally, I want to use the opportunity to thank you most sincerely, the media, for all the cooperation you accorded to us over the last one year of flux.

“You have seen and gone through all the challenges we have faced, and we have been up and doing, always very cooperative and reporting our issues very positively.

“So, we thank you most sincerely, and we hope this will continue and we are not going to take this for granted.

“Going forward, I hope you are going to do everything possible to continue to enlighten the public towards having three fair and credible 2027 general elections, with the SDP leading the pack of the other political parties in this country.”