After withdrawal, Court dismisses Aiyedatiwa’s impeachment suit

DAMISI OJO,Akure

Akure High Court presided over by Justice O. Akintan Osadebey on Tuesday struck out an application by the Ondo State Deputy Governor, Lucky Aiyedatiwa.

Aiyedatiwa was praying the court to restrain the State Chief Judge from setting up an investigative panel following an impeachment process initiated by the state House of Assembly against him.

He had filed an application dated October,13 2023,urging the High Court to interprete section 188 of the 1999 constitution as amended.

This is based on whether the State Chief Judge has power to extend seven days granted by the law to set up an investigative panel to probe the Assembly’s allegations against the Deputy Governor.

But,at the resumed hearing of the case,  Counsel to the Deputy Governor, Barr. Ebun-Olu Adegboruwa, SAN, sought to withdraw the application, while the Counsel to the State House of Assembly, Barr. Femi Emodamori, did not oppose the withdrawal.

The presiding judge, Justice Osadebe subsequently struck out the application.

It would be recalled that Justice Osadebe had last week fined Aiyedatiwa a sum of N200,000 to be paid to the respondents (the State House of Assembly, Governor Oluwarotimi Akeredolu and others) due to absence of the deputy governor’s legal team in the court.

Last Monday, the Ondo State High Court Four presided over by Justice D.I. Kolawole, did not rule on a similar application brought by the lawyer to the Deputy Governor, Ebun-Olu Adegboruwa.

However, he prayed the court to interprete section 188 of the 1999 Constitution as amended, if the State Chief Judge had power to extend seven days granted by the law to set up an investigative panel to probe the Assembly’s allegations against the Deputy Governor.

Justice Kolawole did not rule on the application after the Counsel to the State House of Assembly, Barr. Femi Emodamori, vehemently opposed it, arguing that since Aiyedatiwa had sued the State Chief Judge for himself and all the Judges of Ondo State High Court as the 5th Defendant.

In his Counter-claim, all the High Court Judges were parties to the Counter-Claim and none of them, including Justice D.I Kolawole, can adjudicate the case, because it is a cardinal rule of justice that no one can be a Judge in his own case.

While ruling on the application, Justice Kolawole directed all the parties to sustain peace and thereafter adjourned the case till November 22, 2023 to enable parties filed relevant processes and documents.

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