The
Speaker knew something was wrong immediately he entered the chambers of the
parliament. For a moment he wondered if he had stepped into a wrong building.
But the inscription on the building was bold and clear: Oyo State House of
Assembly. It was not a wrong building. But something was still amiss. On the
seat reserved for him as the Speaker, an apparent stranger was already seated
holding the gavel.
Well,
not really an apparent stranger. The seat was occupied by a fellow lawmaker who
was also the Deputy Speaker. “What insolence!” Abraham Adeleke, the Speaker,
thought as he marched briskly towards the usurper. Laiku ekìri, ta lo le fi awo ra da gbedu [Who could use the skin of
a live animal to make a drum?]
With
all the dignity he could muster under the circumstance, he ordered his Deputy,
Taiwo Oluyemi, to vacate his seat. Oluyemi did not even acknowledge his presence.
He continued flipping through the documents on the table as though he was not
the person being addressed. Adeleke, now towering over the seated figure,
repeated his order in a very loud voice. Oluyemi refused to budge. By this
time, other parliamentarians had started assembling behind either the Speaker
or the Deputy Speaker, urging their respective choice not to yield.
Oluyemi
raised his head a little to make a mental count of his supporters. They were
17. He smiled for the first time. He was emboldened by the number. The speaker’s crowd was
smaller, they were 12 in number. There was a lone lawmaker who appeared
undecided whether to go with Oluyemi or Adeleke. He continued to look from one to
the other. Finally he moved toward the smaller camp, the speaker’s camp. It was
now 18 to 14.
 |
| Parliament Building |
The historic
Parliament Building which foundation was laid in 1955 by Sir John Rankine and
which was opened in February 1956 by Her Majesty the Queen erupted! Adeleke was
being urged to push the imposter from the seat. “I am the Speaker” He
bellowed. Oluyemi, who was holding
tightly to both the chair and the table, responded: “I am in the majority”.
Parliamentary decorum was thrown to the winds. The hallowed chambers became a circus.
Chairs were being used freely as weapons of mass destruction. Traders in Dugbe market would have been proud of
the bedlam.
Oluyemi
realized that Adeleke and his group, though smaller in number, were not ready
to concede either the seat or the title of the speaker to him. He made a sign
to his supporters. They all made their way out of the chambers. Cars and buses
appeared as if on cue. They trooped in and the convoy moved off at speed.
Civil
servants heard the commotion going on in the House. They all abandoned their
offices and came out to witness the drama. They scampered out of the way as the
vehicles carrying the legislators sped out of the State Secretariat. “Where are
they going?” A young man asked the elderly man beside him. The old man, who
appeared to be a visitor to the seat of power, shook his head. “I don’t know.
That was the same question I asked when I was your age when I witnessed a
similar incident in 1962!”
If
the young man had asked Onigegewura, I would have told him that I knew where
the 18 parliamentarians were going.
They
moved to Ozemire Hall in the popular D’Rovans Hotel along Ring Road. They
quickly arranged themselves. At exactly 12.30pm, Hon. Taiwo Oluyemi from Ibarapa Constituency
was led into the hall by the sergeant at arms. The first thing they did was to
appoint the former Deputy Speaker as the Acting Speaker. That done, the newly
inaugurated speaker proclaimed the Hotel hall as the new Chambers of Oyo State
Legislature.
Oluyemi,
the acting Speaker, informed his colleagues that as lawmakers, things must be
done according to the law. He told them that a parliament must have a clerk to
record proceedings. He therefore appointed Babatunde Eesuola from Atiba
Constituency as the new Clerk of the House.
By
now, popular politicians in the State had begun to arrive at the makeshift
chambers. They were duly recognized by the new speaker. It was apparent that
something was going to happen. And it soon happened. A motion was moved to
serve a notice of impeachment on the Governor, Alhaji Rashidi Ladoja, for alleged
gross misconduct. The motion was not opposed.
Back
at the Parliament Building, the 14 lawmakers were also not idle. At 2.30pm, the
assistant sergeant at arms (I hope
you remember that the substantive sergeant
at arms had followed Oluyemi’s group) led in the Speaker. Following the
parliamentary ‘coup’ staged by Oluyemi, the House declared his position vacant.
Hon. Titilola Ademola Dauda was elected as the new Deputy Speaker.
Like
in 1962, when Ibadan (and the Western Region) had two Premiers, Ibadan (and Oyo
State) in 2005 had two Houses of Assembly; one in the Parliament Building in the
Secretariat, the other in the Ozemire Hall in D’Rovans Hotel. And like in 1962,
that singular act would set in motion a chain of events that even the principal
actors could not have foreseen.
 |
| Alhaji Lamidi Ariyibi Adedibu |
Alhaji
Lamidi Ariyibi Adedibu, the [then] Ekarun Olubadan of Ibadanland was the
undisputed king as well as the kingmaker of Oyo State politics. His word was
the law. Many years earlier, Yusuf Olatunji, the legendary doyen of sakara
music had recognized the immense influence of
Alaafin Molete when he
described him as idameji Ibadan ti won n
pe ni enikan [one man that was half of Ibadan]. In effect, Baba L’Egba
meant that if you divided Ibadan into two halves, everybody and institution in Ibadan
would form one half, the generalissimo of politics would constitute the other
half! That was Lamidi Adedibu! The Lion of Ibadan! The Emperor of Molete.
Anyone
supported by Lamidi Adedibu was certain of becoming the eventual winner. It was
therefore not a surprise when Rashidi Adewolu Ladoja, the [then] Bada Olubadan
emerged as the 15th Governor of Oyo State in 2003. He was nominated
and anointed for the position by the strongman himself. He was not the only one
nominated. Alaafin Molete also nominated the Deputy Governor. That was not all.
Two of his nominees won as the Senators of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. He
single handedly nominated most of the 32 members of the House of Assembly and all
of the 351 councilors in the State. They all won.
However
things soon fell apart when it was apparent that Ladoja was not ready to run a
puppet government.
The
first crack appeared when it was time to appoint cabinet members and members of
boards of governing councils of government corporations. Adedibu had expected
Ladoja to ask him for nominees. The governor however had a different idea.
 |
| Rashidi Ladoja |
Oyo State
was a member of Oodua Group of Companies, owned by the governments of Oyo,
Ondo, Osun, Ekiti and Ogun States. The practice was to rotate the chairmanship of
the conglomerate among member states. It was the turn of Oyo State to nominate
the chairman at the material time. Loyal party members angling for the plum
position had submitted their CVs to the Ekaarun Olubadan. It was over the radio
that Adedibu heard that Ladoja had appointed Karimu Latunji as the Chairman!
Adedibu knew it must be a mistake. He summoned the governor. Ladoja confirmed
that his nominee was very competent for the job.
The
next position was the Chairman of the Governing Council of Ladoke Akintola
University. Adedibu did not wait this time around for the Governor to make any announcement.
Ina esisi kii jooni lemeji. [A clever
person does not make the same mistake twice]
He went with his nominee to Agodi to
meet with the Governor. “Your Excellency, this is the Chairman of LAUTECH!” He
was shocked when His Excellency informed him that one Adegbite had been
appointed. Adegbite from where? From Agbeni or Oke Ado?
It
was becoming clear that Ladoja was getting too big for his shoes. Bi o ti le wu ki alagbaro ga to, eni ti o
gbe oko fun loga e [No matter how tall the labourer is, the owner of the
farm who employs him is his boss]. Ladoja was the labourer. Adedibu was the
owner of the farm. Loyal party members who had expected to recoup their
political investment from the governor also began to grumble. Nothing was
forthcoming from the state treasury.
If
the issue had been limited to political appointments, perhaps it could have
been tolerable. However, the Governor was also not making financial returns to
his chief investor and promoter. According to Adedibu: “Ladoja was too greedy. He was collecting N65 million as security vote
every month. You know that governors don’t account for security votes. He was
to give me N15 million of that every month. He reneged. Later, it was reduced
to N10 million, yet he did not give me. That was why I disowned him…”
It
was decided that Ladoja must go. The legislators were all summoned to Molete.
The meeting had only one agenda. Rashidi Ladoja must be impeached. There was
only one small challenge. Not all the parliamentarians were convinced that the
governor should be removed. A parliamentarian informed Baba Adedibu that under
the Constitution, two-third majority was required. Baba retorted sharply:
“Majority is majority. Go and do your job!”
 |
| Alaafin Molete |
Let
us follow Onigegewura back to D’Rovans Hotel. The chieftains present
congratulated Oluyemi, the ‘acting speaker’, for the successful motion of the notice
to impeach the governor. The next question was how to serve the governor with
the notice of alleged gross misconduct. Someone suggested that service could be
effected through newspaper publication. It was a brilliant idea that everyone
accepted.
The
people of Oyo State woke up on December 14 to see the advertorial in The Tribune. The paper became the
hottest commodity in the city of Ibadan. Vendors began to use the paper to sell
other newspapers. For you to buy Tribune,
you must buy two other newspapers. By 10am, no single copy of The Tribune could be found anywhere.
The
notice itself was a two-paragraph letter addressed to the Governor. It reads:
“I hereby write to convey to you the receipt
of enclosed Notice of Impeachment from the Majority Members of the House of
Assembly.
The said Notice is hereby forwarded to you
for your reaction in compliance with section 188(2)(a) and (b) of the
Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999.”
It
was signed “Taiwo Oluyemi Adewale, Deputy Speaker Oyo State House of Assembly”.
Abraham
Adeleke was one of the first sets of people in Ibadan to read The Tribune on December 14. He saw the
notice published at the instance of Oyo
State Legislature and signed by his Deputy who had been removed. He immediately
got across to his colleagues [the Ladoja Parliamentarians]. It was decided that
a counter notice be issued. The Disclaimer was published the following day. The
notice urged the governor “to ignore and discountenance the said Notice and
publication” on the ground that Adeleke as the authentic Speaker of the Oyo
State House of Assembly had “not given or consented to the issuance of any
Notice…”
Rashidi
Adewolu Ladoja knew that he had called so-n-so,
and he must see so-n-so. He had dared
the godfather and he must be prepared to pay the price. He called his lawyer to
find out whether he could be removed as the governor of the state. His counsel
was Yusuf Olaolu Alli, a brilliant Senior Advocate who was popularly called
Mallam. Alli was called to the Bar in 1983 and became a Senior Advocate fourteen
years later in 1997. Alli read the provisions of section 188 of the
Constitution carefully. It was a very long provision containing 584 words. Alli
read every word.
 |
| Yusuf Alli SAN |
Mallam
Alli found out that whilst one-third of the members was required to sign notice
of allegation against the governor, two-third of the members was required to
support the motion for removal. There were 32 members in the House. 18 members
were in support of removing the governor, 14 members were against. Alli found
that pro-Adedibu 18 was not up to the required 2/3. The governor did his
arithmetic. He agreed with his lawyer. He was happy.
It
was as if the pro-Adedibu lawmakers were privy to the legal advice issued by
the governor’s counsel. They came out with a public notice where they informed
the members of the public that the membership of the House was no longer 32 but
25! According to the publication, 7 pro-Ladoja members had been suspended. I
know you are already working out what two-third of 25 is!
The
Ladoja Parliamentarians were shocked by this publication which they knew was
done to circumvent the provision of section 188. They came out with their own publication
where they informed the good people of Oyo State that five pro-Adedibu
lawmakers, including their acting speaker, Hon. Oluyemi Taiwo Adewale, had been
suspended from further parliamentary activities. With the publication, Team
Adedibu had technically been reduced to
13!
On
Thursday, December 22, the two factions converged at the Parliament Building
[not the one at D’Rovans Hotel]. In a twinkle of an eye, the State Secretariat had
become a theatre of war. Fierce fighting erupted between supporters of the two
factions. In the battle, gunshots could be heard all over the secretariat. The
seat of government was enveloped with smoke of tear gas. Civil servants fled in
all directions. No one waited ‘to be directed by a superior officer’ as was the
norm in public service before fleeing. Eni
ori yo, o di ile!
 |
| Oyo State Secretariat |
The
younger ones did not hesitate before scaling the fence surrounding the
secretariat. The elderly and the women ran in the direction of the swamp behind
the Revenue House. Shouts of “I will not
die in the name of Jesus! I will survive this in sha Allah” could be heard
as the public servants ducked from the flying bullets.
At
the end of the day, charms, expended gun bullets, and vandalized furniture
littered the entire compound. When it was all over, government put the value of
properties destroyed at N450 million.
It
was after the fracas which had lasted for more than five hours died down that Team
Adedibu managed to gain control of the House of Assembly. Ijafara l’ewu [Delay is dangerous]. A motion was quickly moved to
call on the acting Chief Judge to set up a panel to investigate the allegations
against the governor. The motion was not opposed. The proceeding lasted less
than 45 minutes.
Hon.
Adeleke and his colleagues in Ladoja Team were alarmed at this turn of events.
They did two things simultaneously. They wrote the Chief Judge of Oyo State
informing His Lordship that there was no sitting of the House on December 22
and that the House did not move any motion to request His Lordship to set up
any panel.
They
also briefed Chief Adeniyi Akintola, a Senior Advocate who was worth his weight
in pure gold. Since his call to Bar in 1986 Akintola had left no one in doubt
that he was destined for the top of the legal profession. He was brilliant and
dedicated. He reviewed the facts of the case and like Mallam Alli, he also came
to the conclusion that Adedibu Legislators as constituted could not validly
remove the governor. His clients were happy. They asked him to proceed to
court.
 |
| Niyi Akintola SAN |
Akintola
was in court very early the following morning. The case was assigned to my
Lord, Hon. Justice John Olagoke Ige. Akintola made powerful submissions before
His Lordship. At the end of the day, he succeeded in moving the court to grant
an order that status quo be maintained by all the parties. The substantive
matter was adjourned to December 28. Ladoja Legislators had gained a reprieve,
even if temporary.
In
the papers he filed in court, Akintola challenged the actions of Adedibu
Legislators as being unconstitutional, null and void. The actions being
challenged include: the purported sitting at D’Rovans Hotel, Ring Road Ibadan;
the service of notice of allegation of gross misconducts on Ladoja through a newspaper;
and the purported motion passed by the lawmakers calling for the investigation
of allegation of misconduct, amongst others.
The
Adedibu parliamentarians were promptly served with the court processes. Upon
being served [and this is very
important, please pay attention], they did not file a memorandum of
appearance. They also did not file a counter-affidavit to the affidavit in
support of originating summons. [An affidavit is a statement of fact. To oppose
the facts, you must file a counter-affidavit.]. Rather, they reacted by filing
a notice of preliminary objection. The effect of this was to challenge the
jurisdiction of the court. In a layman’s language, they argued that the court
had no jurisdiction to hear the case. [Please
note that this case was between Adedibu Legislators and Ladoja Parliamentarians.
Ladoja was not a party to this case, at this stage.]
Adewolu
Ladoja, the man at the centre of the crisis, was not sitting down comfortably
in the Government House. He directed his counsel, Mallam Alli, to proceed to
the court to challenge his impending impeachment. Alli, in his characteristic
diligent manner, did not stop there. He also filed a motion for injunction to
restrain the 18-member faction from proceeding with the impeachment plan. The
case was adjourned to January 13 for hearing.
On
December 28, Chief Akintola, Senior Advocate led the legal team that appeared
for Hon. Adeleke and Co. Messrs. Lekan Latinwo and Michael Lana led the team
that appeared for Hon. Taiwo Oluyemi and his group in the Pro-Adedibu camp.
Akintola put up spirited argument on why the court ought to hear the case.
Messrs Latinwo and Lana maintained their position that the court had no
jurisdiction to even consider the case.
The
city of Ibadan waited with bated breath for the decision of the court. From
Molete to Moniya, from Agodi to Apata Ganga, from Egbeda to Elekuro, there was
no other matter being discussed. In all buses and offices, it was the case of
the century that was being discussed.
His
Lordship knew that time was of the essence, Hon. Justice Ige was therefore
determined to hear and determine the case that day. No adjournment would be
granted. After copious submissions by counsel, the ruling was finally ready by 5pm.
There
was tight security around the court as His Lordship began to deliver the ruling
of the court.. Alhaji Lamidi Adedibu was waiting in his Molete Palace. Governor
Ladoja was close to his phones in the Governor’s Lodge. Everyone waited tensely
to hear what the court was going to decide.
In a
considered judgment, His Lordship held that the court was inclined to agree
with the position canvassed on behalf of Adedibu Legislators. According to the
court: “When the House of Assembly is
exercising its constitutional powers in relation to impeachment proceedings or
any matter relating thereto, it is performing a quasi judicial function….It is
clear beyond argument that the jurisdiction of this court is clearly ousted.
Impeachment and related proceedings are purely political matters over which
this court cannot intervene.” Case dismissed!
In
other words, the court had no jurisdiction. Ladoja should accept his fate!
That
was the end of Round One. Adedibu Parliamentarians 1: Ladoja Legislators 0!
Another
case was quickly filed by Team Ladoja. They were represented again by Chief
Akintola. This time around, the acting Chief Judge was made a party to the
suit. They sought an order to restrain the Chief Judge from constituting an
investigative panel. The case was adjourned to January 20. In order words, the
two cases [Ladoja’s case filed by Yusuf Alli, SAN and the Pro Ladoja
Legislators’ case filed by Niyi Akintola, SAN] were adjourned to January 13 and
20 respectively. If only the experienced advocates knew what was about to
happen…
On
January 4, 2006, His Lordship, the acting Chief Judge, went ahead and inaugurated the panel to investigate the
alleged acts of gross misconducts against Rashidi Adewolu Ladoja, the governor
of Oyo State.
The panel
sat for two days. The panel did not take oral evidence from the governor or
from anybody for that matter. On January 12, 2006 - a day before Ladoja’s case
was scheduled to come up for hearing - the panel submitted its report to the
Adedibu Parliamentarians. The report was quickly considered and in a proceeding
which lasted less than 30 minutes, the 18 members summarily passed a resolution
impeaching the High Chief of Ibadan,
Alhaji Senator Rashidi Adewolu Ladoja as the governor of the State.
“E kare, eyin omo Akin! Oke Ibadan yoo
gbeyin! Be e lomokunrin n se!” Lamidi Adedibu was reported to have
congratulated Hon. Taiwo Oluyemi and his 17 colleagues for the successful
operation conducted with military alacrity and political precision.
That
was the end of Round Two: Adedibu Legislators 2: Ladoja Parliamentarians 0!
Ladoja
knew that he was up against a formidable opponent. Okuta meji ni baba ekuro [Two stones are the bane of palm kernel].
Lamidi Adedibu was the kingmaker and the king remover. He had installed and
removed Ladoja as the Governor. But Ladoja was not about to go down without a
fight.
I
hope you recall that the case just decided was between the two factions of the
parliament of Oyo State. Ladoja was not a party to this case before Hon.
Justice Ige as Onigegewura told you earlier.
Naturally,
Honourable Abraham Adeleke and his team were not happy with the decision of the
court. Ladoja was also not pleased either. Adeleke and his deputy, Titilayo
Ademola Dauda, who were the plaintiffs before Justice Ige decided to appeal the
decision. It was at the Court of Appeal that Ladoja was joined as ‘party
interested’.
At the
Court of Appeal, a glittering galaxy of brilliant advocates represented the
parties. The Ladoja Parliamentarians were represented by a formidable team led
by 5 Senior Advocates. Chief Wole Olanipekun who had become a legal institution
led the team. He was assisted by an erudite Professor of Law, Taiwo Osipitan;
the senior Advocate who would later become a Governor, Rotimi Akeredolu was
also in the team; Kola Awodein, a counsel noted for his forensic skill as a
litigator and the cerebral Adeniyi Akintola were amongst the other Senior lawyers in the
team.
 |
| Wole Olanipekun SAN |
Mallam
Yusuf Alli led another crop of seasoned courtroom war veterans which include F.
Fashanu, a Senior Advocate, T. Okusokan and K. K. Eleja. They appeared for the
impeached Governor Ladoja who had been joined as the party interested. After
all, a kii fari lehin olori [You
don’t shave someone’s hairs in his absence].
The
victorious party at the trial court, the Adedibu Legislators, were represented
by the Oyo State Leader of the Bar, Michael Lana, who was the Attorney General.
He was ably assisted by two Senior Advocates whose mastery of advocacy was
never in doubt, Messrs Ayanlaja and Lateef Fagbemi.
The
counsel for the parties demonstrated why they were all conferred with the
prestigious title of Senior Advocate. Each team represented its client to the
best of its ability. Wole Olanipekun was reeling out legal authorities with the
ease of a professional magician. Yusuf Alli was mentioning one case after
another as if he was reciting from the Quran. Mr. Ayanlaja matched his silk
brothers authority for authority.
The
Court of Appeal listened carefully to the submissions of all the counsel. In
its judgment, the Court of Appeal disagreed with the High Court of Oyo State
that it had no jurisdiction. The Court held that the High Court indeed had
jurisdiction and that the trial court should have gone ahead to hear the case
of the pro-Ladoja Parliamentarians.
Now,
the Court of Appeal did something. What? Wait for it. I hope you remember that
Onigegewura had told you that pro-Adedibu legislators filed only a notice of preliminary objection
without filing a counter-affidavit [statement of facts to oppose what is
contained in an affidavit].
So what
did the Court of Appeal do? Instead of returning the case to the High Court to
be retried, the appellate court decided to try the case in order to save time.
Yes, the Court of Appeal has this power. Every lawyer knows about section 16 of
the Court of Appeal Act. Since the Adedibu Legislators had no
counter-affidavit, the Court held that the facts filed by Ladoja
Parliamentarians were uncontested and were therefore admitted by the Adedibu
Legislators.
According
to the Court: “No factional meeting of
any members of a State House of Assembly can amount to a constitutional meeting
of the whole House of Assembly as envisaged and provided for by the
Constitution. There was no counter affidavit before the lower Court to prove
that any member of the House of Assembly of Oyo State was suspended or that the
plaintiffs/appellants were removed as Speaker and Deputy Speaker…It follows
therefore that all the steps taken by the faction of the defendants/respondents
purporting to initiate impeachment of Senator Ladoja as the Governor of Oyo
State were not actions of the Oyo State House of Assembly.”
In a
nutshell, the Court held that Ladoja was never removed as the Governor!
That
was the end of Round 3! Ladoja had won!
The
decision of the Court of Appeal on November 1, 2006 – 9 months after Ladoja was
impeached – threw the palace and the camp of Alaafin Molete into turmoil. I hope you know that Ladoja’s
erstwhile Deputy, Christopher Alao-Akala, had been sworn in as the Governor of
Oyo State. Baba Adedibu’s Personal Assistant, Hazeem Gbolarumi, had been
appointed as the new Deputy Governor.
 |
| Christopher Alao-Akala |
With
the new development, Alao-Akala became one of the few people in the world who
would hold office as a substantive Deputy Governor, Governor, and back to
Deputy Governor, all in the course of a single year!
Afowo fonna kii duro ro ejó [someone
holding burning ember doesn’t wait to chat]. Adedibu Legislators didn’t have
the luxury of time. The game had changed, courtesy of the Judiciary. They flew
to Abuja to file an appeal against the decision of the Court of Appeal, Ibadan
Division.
 |
| Supreme Court |
At
the apex court, a total of 22 counsel, inclusive of 1 Attorney General, 4
Senior Advocates, 1 Professor of Law, appeared for Adedibu Legislators. 20
counsel, including 5 senior Advocates, 1 professor of Law, two gentlemen who
soon became senior advocates, and a gentleman who is a serving Minister in the
Buhari Administration, represented Ladoja Parliamentarians. For the Governor
himself, His Excellency was led by 16 senior counsel of whom 3 were Senior
Advocates [one of them became Attorney General of the Federation later]. The
Oyo State House of Assembly was also represented. Four counsel appeared for the
parliament. It was indeed a landmark case!
The
first thing the Supreme Court discovered was as shocking as it was elementary.
If I ask you what took the parties to the court, what would your answer be?
Impeachment of Ladoja? Yes, I knew that’s what you were going to say. The final
Court in Nigeria read through section 188 of the Constitution and discovered
that there was no mention of the word ‘impeachment’ in the section! You have
learnt something new, abi?
Let’s
move on [Don’t worry, I am getting to the end of the story]…
Justice
Niki Tobi read the judgment of the Court. His Lordship found that the
pro-Adedibu lawmakers, in their haste to remove Ladoja from office, contravened
the provisions of section 188 on at least six different occasions. These
include: holding of the meeting of parliament in D’Rovans Hotel; absence and
non-service of constitutional notice of allegation against the governor;
failure to obtain two-thirds majority; and non-involvement of the Speaker.
The
Court held that a House of Assembly must be a physical building provided for
that purpose. I hope you remember the case of Akintola v. Adegbenro as narrated by Onigegewura in the story of Two Premiers and a Governor. The Supreme
Court cited the case on this point.
The
Court agreed with the Court of Appeal that to return the case to the High Court
to enable Adedibu Group to file their counter-affidavit would amount to a waste
of time. The Court found that the group was so “miserly in the way they approached the court in this matter… All their
strategy was to delay the proceedings till May 29, 2007 to make the judgment of
this court barren or useless… what type of cleverness is that? What type of
smartness is that? What type of trick is that?”
The
Supreme Court therefore held that Senator Rashidi Ladoja was illegally removed
by the Adedibu Legislators. According to the apex court: “Senator Ladoja
remains the legally, constitutionally and democratically elected Governor of
Oyo State.”
 |
| Rashidi Ladoja |
For
the second and final time, Ladoja had won! It was a decisive victory! It was a
victory for democracy and rule of law.
What
happened when Ladoja got back to the Government House in Ibadan? What was Baba
Adedibu’s reaction to the Supreme Court judgment? What happened to the State
Attorney General who argued against Ladoja? What happened to Ladoja’s Deputy
who became the Governor?
Ha!
That’s another story….
I
thank you very warmly for reading the story to the end.
History Does Not Forget
The right of Olanrewaju Onigegewura© to be identified as the author of stories published on this blog has been asserted by him in accordance with the copyright laws.
