A former President of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Chief Wole Olanipekun (SAN), on Monday, said his effort with other senior lawyers has helped restore sanity in the reckless removal of governors and deputies in the country.
He particularly noted that the efforts made by him and a number of other legal icons to challenge the removal of a former governor of Oyo State, Alhaji Rasidi Adewolu Ladoja, in the courts has stemmed from arbitrary removal of governors and their deputies.
Olanipekun made the assertion on Monday in Ibadan, the Oyo State capital in a keynote address at the opening of the 70th anniversary of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Ibadan branch.
Ladoja was reinstated in 2006 following the declaration by the court that his removal in 2005 violated the provisions of 1999 Constitution,
He recalled that he and other Senior Advocates of Nigeria, including Mallam Yusuf Olaolu Ali, the late Oluwarotimi Akeredolu, Kola Awodehin, Adeniyi Akintola, Professor Taiwo Osipitan, Afolabi Fashanu and Mohammed Adoke fought the legal battle against Ladoja’s removal.
The legal luminary said the Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court agreed with their submission that the action meted out on Ladoja was illegal and unconstitutional.
According to Olanipeku, the decisions of the courts stemmed the reign of impunity, especially the recklessness on the part of some legislators across the country in arbitrarily removal of governors and deputy governors from office.
“And with those decisions, the trial High Court declined jurisdiction to entertain the impeachment proceedings brought by the Speaker of the Oyo State House of Assembly and some legislators who were opposed to the wanton removal from office of the then Governor of Oyo State, Rasheed Adewolu Ladoja.
“Both the Court of Appeal and Supreme Court agreed with us, that is, Counsel to the Speaker, and later, when Ladoja joined as a party at the Court of Appeal, my humble self, Mallam Yusuf Ali, SAN, Oluwarotimi Akeredolu, SAN, Kola Awodehin, SAN, Adeniyi Akintola, SAN, Professor Taiwo Osipitan, SAN, Afolabi Fashanu, SAN, Mohammed Adoke, SAN. leading several other members of the Utter Bar.
“For the appellants were O.A. Ayanlaja, SAN, L.O. Fagbemi, SAN, J.K. Gadzama, SAN, Chris Uche, SAN, leading other members of the Utter Bar, although M. F. Lana was then the Attorney-General of Oyo State) that section 188 (10) cannot be read in isolation of section 188 (1)(9) and that for the ouster clause in section 188 (10) to be activated by any court, it must have been demonstrated that the legislators had complied with the provisions of section 188(1)-(9).
“I dare say that decisions have clearly checkmated the recklessness on the part of some legislators all over the country at arbitrarily removing Governors and Deputy Governors from office,” Olanipekun stated.
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