JUWON Drags Three Osun High Court Judges to NJC Over Alleged Abuse of Court Process on 29-Year-Old Osun Land Judgment

The Judiciary Watch of Nigeria (JUWON), a prominent legal advocacy group, has finalized plans to file a formal petition with the National Judicial Council (NJC) against three Osun State High Court judges.

The petition alleged that the judicial officers issued conflicting and legally untenable orders regarding a valid, subsisting High Court judgment delivered nearly three decades ago.

According to the watchdog group, the matter stems from a 29-year-old land dispute, *Suit No. HOS/71/93 (Hephzibah Holdings Ltd v. Madam Sinatu Adeoye & 4 Others), in which the former Acting Chief Judge of Osun State, Hon. Justice R.O. Yusuf, delivered a final judgment on February 25, 1997.

JUWON alleges that the three judges, whose identities are currently withheld, improperly entertained applications filed by agents of the judgment debtor. The group contends that the resulting court orders effectively frustrated and undermined the execution of the 1997 judgment, arguing that the dissatisfied parties should have been directed to seek relief at the Court of Appeal instead.

In a statement signed by JUWON’s Deputy National Secretary, Comrade Michael James, the organization emphasized that once a court delivers a final judgment, it becomes functus officio—meaning it lacks the jurisdiction to revisit the substantive issues already decided, except under specific legal exceptions.

“It is deeply disturbing that after a court has become functus officio on a matter, legal practitioners still approach the same court with applications capable of reopening issues already conclusively determined,” James stated.

Advertisement

“More disturbing is the willingness of judicial officers to entertain such applications and issue orders that effectively prevent a successful litigant from enjoying the fruits of a lawful judgment.”

JUWON noted that the High Court had previously authorized the execution of the 1997 judgment, including the issuance of a warrant of possession. Before delivering the original ruling, Justice Yusuf had personally visited the locus in quo (the disputed site) to verify the boundaries. Furthermore, the Chief Bailiff of the Osun State High Court formally submitted a report confirming the successful execution of the judgment on April 30, 2025.

The civil society group claimed that subsequent contradictory orders issued by the affected judges created artificial legal barriers, preventing the judgment creditor from maintaining possession of the land.

JUWON further alleged that these developments emboldened the judgment debtor’s agents to initiate the harassment, arrest, and prosecution of the judgment creditor’s counsel, Lekan Alabi, and the lawful attorney, Najeem Popoola. The group characterized these actions as a severe abuse of legal and law enforcement processes.

The organization also raised concerns over the alleged deployment of an array of security personnel to the disputed land, citing units from the Osun State Police Command, the Force Criminal Investigation Department (FCID) Alagbon, the SWAT Unit, the Nigeria Police Force Headquarters, the Nigerian Army’s Engineering Regiment in Ede, the Osogbo Military Depot, and the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC).

JUWON disclosed that it had closely monitored the conduct of the three judicial officers for approximately one year before deciding to approach the NJC for disciplinary action.

Advertisement

The dispute features a complex web of litigation spanning over forty years:

Suit No. HOS/102/82: Instituted by the Iyiolu Alare Family of Osogbo against Madam Sinatu Adeoye. The court dismissed the family’s claim and awarded substantial costs to Madam Adeoye.

Suit No. HOS/71/93: The landmark 1997 judgment affirming Madam Adeoye’s proprietary rights.

Suit No. HOS/81/13: Mrs. Sidikatu Busari v. Alhaji Dele Yes Sir. The court awarded ₦5 million in damages against the defendant for trespassing on a portion of the disputed land near the Steel Rolling Mills Residential Quarters (Iyana Camp, Osogbo).

Proprietary interests in the land have since devolved from the late Madam Sinatu Adeoye to the late Mrs. Sidikatu Busari, and are currently held by Misitura Busari, who is seeking to maintain enforcement.

In a recent development on February 25, 2026, during proceedings in a related administrative enforcement application (*Suit No. HOS/M.206/2024*), the Osun State High Court sitting in Ikire, presided over by Hon. Justice S.A. Oke, ordered counsel Lekan Alabi to serve copies of the 1982, 1997, and 2016 judgments on all current occupants of the land, noting that land ownership legally extends to all structures attached to it.

Expressing deep concern over how conflicting judicial pronouncements threaten institutional credibility, JUWON concluded with a warning to the justice sector: “If the courts cannot consistently uphold and enforce their own valid and subsisting judgments, what confidence should members of the public have in the judicial system and the rule of law?”