By Dayo Johnson, Akure
A fresh crisis has erupted in the Saint Thomas Aquinas College Old Students Association (ACAOSA), Akure, as three Regional Vice Presidents have dragged the association and its National President, Otunba Sola Adewumi, before a court over the running of its affairs.
The plaintiffs — Patrick Meshe, Vice President, Europe Region; Nnamdi Okoye, Vice President, America Region; and Olusoga Taiwo, Vice President, Nigeria Region — are challenging what they described as their unlawful and unconstitutional suspension from office.
The suit also challenges the convening of an extraordinary meeting of the association on October 3, 2026, allegedly without recourse to the association’s Board of Trustees (BOT).
The secondary school, established in 1951 by Catholic missionaries, is one of the foremost secondary schools in Ondo State and has a large alumni network.
In the suit filed through a team of lawyers led by Chief Dapo Agbede, the plaintiffs alleged that the National President and the Worldwide Executive Council (WEC) lacked the constitutional authority to summarily suspend elected Regional Vice Presidents without following prescribed disciplinary procedures, including fair hearing and voting by members.
They are asking the court to declare their purported suspension unconstitutional, null and void, on the grounds that due process and the rules of natural justice were allegedly not followed.
The plaintiffs are also seeking a declaration that, under Section 18(B)(1) of the ACAOSA Constitution, the convening, conduct and holding of the October 3 extraordinary meeting, in the alleged absence of a functional Board of Trustees, was unconstitutional, null and void.
They further want the court to declare, based on Sections 19(A)-(F) of the association’s constitution, that resolutions, decisions, structural changes or purported constitutional amendments adopted at the meeting are invalid.
Among the reliefs sought is an order setting aside the purported suspension of the three plaintiffs and restoring them to their respective offices, portfolios and privileges as Regional Vice Presidents of ACAOSA.
They are also seeking an injunction restraining the defendants, their agents, officers and privies from implementing or enforcing the alleged suspension, as well as any resolutions or constitutional changes purportedly adopted at the October 3 meeting.
The plaintiffs further want the court to compel the defendants to restore the status quo that existed before the disputed actions and uphold what they described as the constitutional rights, tenures and regional representation of members of the association.
Another relief sought is a declaration that the refusal of the National President to recognise the nomination and selection of members of the association’s governing bodies, including the Board of Trustees and other standing committees, by their respective regions is illegal, unconstitutional and void.
The court action has deepened the internal dispute within the old students’ association, with the plaintiffs asking the court to determine the constitutional validity of the actions taken by the association’s leadership.
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