A Federal High Court sitting in Lagos has sacked Seyi Sowunmi, the Labour Party’s member of the House of Representatives representing Ojo Federal Constituency. The court declared Lanre Ogunyemi, the former state secretary of the All Progressives Congress (APC), as the winner of the election.

Justice Oluwatoyin Taiwo gave the judgment on Thursday, August 24, 2023. She held that Sowunmi’s election was invalid because he did not have the requisite educational qualification to contest the election.

Ogunyemi had challenged Sowunmi’s election on the grounds that he did not have the National Certificate in Education (NCE), which is the minimum educational qualification for candidates contesting elections to the House of Representatives.

Sowunmi had presented a diploma in education from the Lagos State University as his qualification. However, the court held that the diploma was not equivalent to the NCE.

The court ordered INEC to withdraw Sowunmi’s certificate of return and issue a fresh one to Ogunyemi.

Ogunyemi expressed satisfaction with the judgment, saying that it was a victory for justice. He said that he would work hard to represent the people of Ojo Federal Constituency to the best of his ability.