Federal High Court in Abuja has scheduled October 30, 2023, for a ruling on the case filed by the Deputy Governor of Ondo State, Hon. Lucky Aiyedatiwa.
Gatekeepers News reports that the case centers on the service of court processes and an alleged disobedience of a court order issued on September 26, 2023, against the impeachment of the Deputy Governor.
During the recent court proceedings, arguments were presented regarding the reconciliation committee set up by the All Progressives Congress, the petition to the National Judicial Council by the House of Assembly of Ondo State, and the jurisdiction of the court.
The court ruled that it would hear all pending applications as some of them involve jurisdiction. Since all parties did not agree on the reconciliation and settlement issue, the court decided to proceed with the case.
On the matter of service and jurisdiction, the Deputy Governor’s counsel argued that the application challenging the court’s jurisdiction was not ready for hearing as it was only served on the plaintiff on October 9, 2023, and the plaintiff has seven days to respond, which has already been filed. It was further argued that the plaintiff was within the legal time frame to serve processes on the Department of State Security and the Inspector-General of Police.
The plaintiff raised concerns about a press release from the House of Assembly’s counsel on October 14, 2023, indicating that the House had not suspended the impeachment proceedings despite a court order to the contrary.
The court was urged to deny the House of Assembly the right to be heard based on the press statement of the Counsel. The argument emphasised the importance of obeying a court order regardless of any jurisdictional challenge. It was argued that even if a party is challenging the jurisdiction of the court, it still has a duty to obey any order made by the court and the court will prioritize the issue of compliance with its order above the issue of its jurisdiction.
The Governor’s counsel argued that the court did not need to wait for the Department of State Security and the Inspector-General of Police since they had been served hearing notices.
The Counsel argued that the issue of contempt of court cannot be raised with an affidavit except to follow the procedure laid down in the Rules of the Court for initiating contempt proceedings.
The House of Assembly’s counsel maintained that the issue of disobedience to the court order was already addressed when counsel to the Assembly apologised to the Court and gave an undertaking for compliance.
The Counsel argued that the press statement being complained about by the plaintiff did not contain any contemptuous elements at all as it only seeks to affirm the resolve of the Assembly in following due process of law.
In reply, counsel to the Deputy Governor urged the court to hear the substantive originating summons of the plaintiff along with all objections raised by the defendants, as that is the directive contained in the rules of the court and the practice of the Supreme Court, in order to save time.
The Court directed that all filed processes should be served on all parties, and a ruling will be delivered on October 30, 2023.
It stated further that given the legal submissions made by the various counsel to the parties, it will be proper to take time to go through them and deliver a well considered ruling, stating that the court will be fair to all the parties in the case.
The case revolves around an injunction issued on September 26, 2023, against the defendants, including the House of Assembly of Ondo State and the Chief Judge of Ondo State, in response to the Deputy Governor’s complaints.
