Justice Oloyode: I Have No Regret Writing a Petition against Aregbesola

Yinka Kolawole in Osogbo

A retired judge of the Osun State High Court, Justice Olamide Oloyede, has said she has no regret writing a petition against Governor Rauf Aregbesola of Osun State and his deputy, Grace Titi Laoye-Tomori.

Oloyede who is currently a Senior Lecturer of Law at the Lead City University, Ibadan, equally apologised for the use of some inappropriate words in her petition.

The retired judge had last year petitioned the Osun State House of Assembly, asking it to investigate an alleged mismanagement of the state’s funds by Aregbesola which later led to her compulsory retirement by the National Judicial Council (NJC) at its 77th meeting.

She stressed this while featuring on Rave FM’s News and Current Affairs interview programme” Frank Talk” in Osogbo and monitored by THISDAY monday.

Justice Oloyede also asserted that judicial officers in the country are not adequately empowered to carry out their duties effectively.

She advocated the equal treatment of the judiciary and other arms of government, saying it is the only way the rule of law can prevail in the country.

While reacting to the recent clamp down on some judges by officers of the Department of State Services (DSS), Justice OIoyede stated that the NJC is saddled with the responsibility of probing any judicial officers involved in any criminal act before being treated as a suspect.
Without ruling out the possibility that the judges involved in the clamp down could be guilty, she stated that the constitution must be followed.

The retired judge who is also the founder Virtues Unlimited Restorative Justice Initiative, a non-governmental organisation (NGO) aimed at ensuring better treatment of judicial officers and helping the vulnerable, advocated that part of the constitution which addresses the fundamental rights of the average Nigerian should be made unjusticiable.

She called on Nigerians to put pressure on the National Assembly to amend that section of the constitution, so that the rights of the citizens would be accorded to them as it ought as she also called on the mass media to rise up to its responsibilities in educating the masses on their rights.