The lawsuit filed by Mudashiru Obasa, the reinstated Speaker of the Lagos State House of Assembly, took a surprising turn on Monday, March 17, as Justice Yetunde Pinheiro heard an application to change the House’s legal representation.
The court pushed forward with the application, overlooking the objections raised by Mr. Femi Falana (SAN) representing the House of Assembly.
Falana contended that the court should prioritize his application for a stay of proceedings, citing that he had already filed an appeal with the Court of Appeal, challenging a previous ruling made by the lower court.
Justice Pinheiro overruled his submissions, emphasizing that the application for a change of counsel specifically challenges Falana’s continued representation of the House of Assembly, which is the first defendant in the suit.
Mr. Olusola Idowu (SAN), the lead counsel seeking to replace Mr. Falana, argued that the House has the inherent right to change its counsel at any time, citing the reinstatement of suspended clerk Olalekan Onafeko by the National Industrial Court in Lagos, who has since briefed a new legal team to represent the House.
Falana said he had not received any debriefing from the House and further disclosed that the Industrial Court had actually denied ordering the reinstatement of Mr. Onafeko.
Mr. Abimbola Akeredolu (SAN), counsel to Ms. Mojisola Meranda, the former Speaker, urged the court to dismiss the application for a change of counsel, arguing that it impacted the core of the lawsuit, which remains a contentious issue among the parties involved.
While the counsel representing the 3rd to the 35th defendants, who are 33 lawmakers out of the 40 in total, Mr. Olu Daramola (SAN) said the majority of the lawmakers took the decision to suspend Mr Onafeko and then briefed Mr Falana to represent the House.
Daramola further argued that the Industrial Court’s order was misinterpreted, as the suspended Clerk, Onafeko, remains unreinstated.
Persecondnews had reported that Obasa’s lawyer, Chief Afolabi Fashanu (SAN), filed an application on February 12, claiming Obasa was unlawfully removed as Speaker on January 13, 2025, while he was abroad by 36 of the 40-member legislature.
In a surprising turn of events, the crisis was resolved through the intervention of APC state Chairman Cornelius Ojelabi and State Attorney General, Mr. Lawal Pedro (SAN).
Barely 49 days after Obasa’s impeachment, Meranda was pressured to resign and was promptly re-elected as Deputy Speaker, while Obasa was reinstated as Speaker.
On March 12,.President Bola Tinubu had held a meeting at the Presidential Villa in Abuja, with Obasa and 39 other lawmakers, and advised Obasa to “carry his colleagues along in the scheme of things” and drop the lawsuit he had filed against them following his removal from office in January.
Details later…
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