by Kolapo Olapoju
The Speaker of the Ekiti State House of Assembly, Adewale Omirin, who was illegally impeached, has asked a Federal High Court in Lagos to stop the Ekiti Assembly from carrying out legislative functions.
Omirin and his deputy, Adetunji Orisalade, asked the court to restrain legislative activities in the Ekiti Assembly pending when a suit they filed in opposition to their impeachment would be resolved.
The pair were impeached by seven members of the House belonging to the Peoples Democratic Party on November 20, 2014. Other plaintiffs in the motion filed before Justice Saliu Saidu are the 17 All Progressives Congress lawmakers of the Ekiti Assembly.
Omirin and others are asking Justice Saidu to make an order of interim injunction restraining Olugbemi and Abeni from parading themselves or acting as the Speaker and Deputy Speaker of the House.
They have also asked the court to restrain Fayose and his agents “from generally interfering in any manner with the legislative functions of the plaintiffs and particularly from recognising, dealing, associating or relating with or assigning duties or responsibilities that would validate the illegal assumption of duties of the 12th, 13th and 14th defendants as competent commissioners of Ekiti State Government.”
They also prayed for an order “compelling the defendants to grant to the plaintiffs unfettered access to their legislative quarters and or official quarters in order to carry out their constitutionally bestowed duties as Speaker, Deputy Speaker and respective capacities within the Ekiti State House of Assembly and to forthwith restore the rights, privileges and paraphernalia of their respective offices in accordance with their constitutional rights and mandate.”
Justice Saidu has granted the plaintiffs the leave of the court to serve on the defendants the originating summons filed in opposition to their impeachment. The plaintiffs were also ordered by the judged, to serve the process on the defendants outside of jurisdiction of the court through substituted means, including the use of newspaper advertisements.
The defendants in the case include the Ekiti State Governor, Ayodele Fayose, the incumbent Speaker of the House, Dele Olugbemi, his Deputy, Olayinka Abeni, the Inspector-General of Police, Suleiman Abba; and the Department of State Service.
Other defendants are Oweseni Ajayi (Attorney-General), Kayode Eso (Commissioner for Works) and Toyin Ojo (Commissioner for Finance), and lawmakers; Samuel Ajibola, Adeojo Alexander, Adeloye Adeyinka, Isreal Ajiboye, Fatunbi Olajide and the Commissioner of Police in Ekiti.
According to Omirin and other plaintiffs, not restraining the defendants “would constitute an infraction on the constitutional exercise of the legislative powers of the House of Assembly of Ekiti State.”
The court has scheduled next Monday, December 15, to hear the application.
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