Supreme Court Affirms Eda Oniyo as Ilejemeje LG Headquarters, Dismisses Iye Appeal
The Supreme Court of Nigeria has finally put to rest the long-running dispute over the headquarters of Ilejemeje Local Government Area in Ekiti State, affirming Eda Oniyo as the constitutionally recognized seat of government and dismissing an appeal filed by the Iye community.
In a judgment delivered on Monday, September 22, 2026, a panel of the apex court presided over by Justice Inyang Okoro dismissed the appeal challenging the Ekiti State Government’s decision to relocate the local government headquarters back to Eda Oniyo in compliance with an earlier Supreme Court order.
The court recalled that it had already settled the matter in December 2018 when it upheld an appeal by the Eda Oniyo community and affirmed the town as the rightful headquarters.
The latest appeal by Iye Ekiti sought to reopen that decision. The justices made it clear they could not invalidate their own previous judgment.
“The decree which created the local government has become part and parcel of the law, except amended by the National Assembly,” the court stated, stressing that the 2018 ruling remained binding.
Since the state government had already complied by returning the headquarters to Eda Oniyo, the justices found no basis for fresh litigation.
The apex court went further, expressing strong disapproval of the conduct of the appellants’ counsel.
It noted that the lawyer ought to have advised his clients on the futility of the appeal rather than subjecting them to the stress and expense of pursuing a matter already decided by the Supreme Court.
As a consequence, the court awarded ₦10 million in costs against the appellants in favour of Eda Oniyo.
Prof. Adetifa Emmanuel K represented the Eleda of Eda Oniyo, the third respondent in the appeal, while Eniola Arogundade, Director of Appeals in the Ekiti State Ministry of Justice, appeared for the state government. Leading counsel for the Iye community appellants was Taiwo Hassan, SAN.
The decision brings legal finality to a contentious issue that has generated tension between the two communities for years.
Residents of Eda Oniyo have welcomed the ruling as validation of their long-held position, while the judgment underscores the principle of finality in Supreme Court decisions and the limited grounds on which earlier apex court rulings can be revisited.
With the headquarters now firmly established at Eda Oniyo, attention is expected to shift to the smooth administration of Ilejemeje Local Government and the implementation of the court’s orders without further delay.
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