The High Court in Akure, Ondo State, has set October 10 for the delivery of its decision on two motions in the lawsuit brought by the state’s deputy governor, Lucky Aiyedatiwa.
According to Anaedoonline.ng, the court, presided over by Hon. Justice Akintan-Osadebay, heard arguments from the petitioner and the defendant before postponing the proceeding till the following week.
Aiyedatiwa is asking the court for permission in the initial motion to change the reliefs sought and remove the name of the Governor from the Originating Summons.
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It was said in the affidavit supporting the application, which was sworn on October 3, 2023, by a Deputy Governor’s assistant, that an amendment to the Originating Summons is required in order to present the true issues in dispute between the parties before the court.
The Defendants did object to the aforementioned application on legal grounds even though they did not submit a counter-affidavit. The court decided that it would take into account both the amendment and the motions from the House of Assembly, which question the court’s jurisdiction, notwithstanding the Deputy Governor’s attorney’s request for a ruling on the amendment application before moving further with the case.
Using section 188(10) of the Constitution, which was claimed to remove the court’s jurisdiction, the House of Assembly, through its counsel, filed a motion on notice dated September 29, 2023, contesting the competence of the substantive case of the Deputy Governor.
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They argued that the lawsuit was premature because the Assembly had not yet finished the proceedings of removal, especially when there was no request before the Chief Judge to constitute a panel of investigators.
The Assembly further argued that the Akure case constituted an abuse of the legal system because the Deputy Governor had also brought a related lawsuit in Abuja.
The Deputy Governor’s attorney, however, asked the court to disregard the Assembly’s application because it amounted to a legal demurrer because they should have filed a defence first and then presented all of their preliminary legal arguments.
He stated that because the preliminary objection can only be based on the substantive complaint that is being amended, the court cannot simply accept an application for an amendment along with it. It was customary to include the objection in the substantive lawsuit together with any other relevant documents.
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The Deputy Governor’s attorney opposed the Assembly’s objection, arguing that the Assembly had not presented any evidence to the court demonstrating compliance with the removal process, such as proof of personal service of the Notice on the Deputy Governor and service on all Assembly members.
He said that the Notice being distributed by the Assembly is illegal and also tainted by the fact that the Assembly called a plenary session to address the Notice on September 20, 2023, before the Deputy Governor has even been served.
He said that the Abuja lawsuit included different parties and sought different relief, and that the Assembly had neglected to provide information on the Abuja case so the court could compare it to the Akure case.
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He urged the court to reject the objection as being without foundation. After hearing both sides’ arguments, the court decided to postpone further hearings until October 10, 2023.
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