The Federal High Court in Abuja has adjourned the suit filed by the deputy governor of Ondo State, Lucky Aiyedatiwa, against his impeachment by the state’s assembly, pending the outcome of an appeal by the speaker and the assembly at the Court of Appeal.
Justice Emeka Nwite, who gave the ruling on Friday, also refused to grant the application by the governor of Ondo State, Rotimi Akeredolu, and the speaker of the assembly, seeking to set aside the interim order of injunction issued by the court on September 26, for lack of jurisdiction.
The judge said it would be wise to adjourn the matter “sine die” (indefinitely) to avoid judicial rascality, since the reliefs sought by the appellants at the Court of Appeal were the same as those sought by the governor and the speaker in their applications before him.
The interim order of injunction, which was granted by Justice Nwite after hearing the ex-parte motion moved by Mr Aiyedatiwa’s counsel, Kayode Adewusi, restrained the assembly from impeaching the deputy governor over alleged gross misconduct.
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It also restrained the governor from nominating a new deputy governor and forwarding the same to the assembly for approval based on a letter of resignation purportedly authored or signed by Mr Aiyedatiwa.
The deputy governor of Ondo had sued the Inspector-General of Police (IGP) and the State Security Service (SSS) as the first and second defendants, while the governor, the speaker, the chief judge of Ondo State and the assembly were the third to sixth respondents, respectively.
In his suit marked FHC/ABJ/CS/1294/2023, Mr Aiyedatiwa sought four reliefs, including an order of perpetual injunction restraining the respondents from impeaching him or taking any step in furtherance of the impeachment process.
However, the governor of Ondo and the speaker, through their respective counsel, Kassim Gbadamosi and Femi Emodamori, challenged the jurisdiction of the court to entertain the suit and asked the court to strike out or dismiss the suit.
They also filed an appeal at the Court of Appeal, Abuja, on October 20, seeking to set aside the ex-parte order of the lower court and to dismiss the substantive suit for want of jurisdiction.
But Mr Aiyedatiwa’s counsel, Ebun-Olu Adegboruwa, urged the court to dismiss the applications by the governor and the speaker, arguing that they lacked locus (legal right) to raise such issues.
He also prayed the court to adjourn the case indefinitely to await the decision of the Court of Appeal, since the speaker and the assembly had already filed an appeal on the same matter.
He said it would be a waste of the court’s time to entertain arguments on the jurisdiction of the court and to avoid conflicting with the superior court.
Justice Nwite agreed with Mr Adegboruwa’s submission and adjourned the case indefinitely, noting that the court cannot wrestle jurisdiction with the Court of Appeal.
He said he would also reserve his ruling on the arguments preferred by the parties on October 16, until the Court of Appeal decides on the appeal. #Ondo