Appeal Court Reinstates Sacked Ondo Deputy Speaker

The Court of Appeal, sitting in Akure, the Ondo State capital, reinstated Hon Iroju Ogundeji as the Deputy Speaker of the State House of Assembly a year after he completed his tenure.

In a unanimous decision, Justices Oyebisi Folayemi Omoleye, Frederick Oziakpono-Oho, and Yusuf Alhaji Bashir upheld Justice Akintan Osadebey’s judgment reinstating the two-term lawmaker who represented the Odigbo state constituency in the Assembly.

The state Assembly, under the leadership of former Speaker Hon David Bamidele Oleyeloogun, had suspended Ogundeji as a member of the assembly and eventually removed him as the Deputy Speaker of the assembly.

Iroju served the rest of his tenure as a lawmaker in suspension.

Displeased with the action, Ogundeji, through his lawyer, Oluwanike Omotayo Esq, approached the court for nullifying the suspension as a lawmaker and removal as the Deputy Speaker.

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Omotayo approached the court, describing the Assembly’s decision as null since the purported impeachment did not follow constitutional requirements.

She said the purported removal of Ogundeji contravened order two, section 9 (1-10) of the rules and standing order of the State House of Assembly, saying the law required a two-thirds majority of the members before any of the Assembly’s principal officers could be impeached.

Justice Osadebey, in her judgment, ordered the reinstatement of Ogundeji as the Assembly’s Deputy Speaker. The court described some Assembly members’ purported removal of Ogundeji on November 24, 2020, as illegal, null, and void.

Justice Osadebey held that the lawmaker was not given a fair hearing as the purported impeachment had been carried out before the Assembly set up a panel to investigate him. This, she held, was like putting the cart before the horse. She said the impeachment proceedings did not personally serve the claimant, which made them null.

Also, the judge said there was no parliamentary resolution before the purported impeachment and that not all members were present during the impeachment as required by the rules of the Assembly and the 1999 constitution.

The court held that signing a parliamentary meeting attendance form was not tantamount to consent, as nine out of the 26-member Assembly dissociated themselves from the purported impeachment.

Subsequently, the court ordered Ogundeji reinstated and all his entitlements paid up to date. At the same time, his office paraphilia should be restored immediately, just as Aderoboye’s appointment was described as a nullity.