A fresh leadership crisis has hit 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 their purported suspension from office, which they described as unlawful and unconstitutional.
They are also challenging the convening and conduct of an extraordinary meeting of the association scheduled for October 3, 2026, alleging that the meeting was convened without recourse to the association’s Board of Trustees, BOT.
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 the disciplinary procedures prescribed by the association’s constitution.
They argued that the procedures should have included fair hearing and voting by members, adding that failure to follow due process rendered their purported suspension invalid.
The plaintiffs are asking the court to declare their suspension unconstitutional, null and void, and order their reinstatement to their respective offices, portfolios and privileges as Regional Vice Presidents.
They 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, allegedly in the absence of a functional Board of Trustees, was unconstitutional, null and void.
The plaintiffs further want the court to invalidate any resolutions, decisions, structural changes or purported constitutional amendments adopted at the meeting, citing Sections 19(A) (F) of the association’s constitution.
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 disputed meeting.
In addition, the plaintiffs 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 by the plaintiffs is a declaration that the alleged refusal of the National President to recognise nominations and selections made by the various regions for membership of the association’s governing bodies, including the Board of Trustees and standing committees, is illegal, unconstitutional and void.
Saint Thomas Aquinas College, established in 1951 by Catholic missionaries, is one of the prominent secondary schools in Ondo State and has a large network of former students.
The court action has further heightened the internal dispute within ACAOSA, with the plaintiffs asking the court to determine the constitutional validity of the actions taken by the association’s leadership.