Olanipekun: Lawyers’ Stance against Ladoja’s Removal Checked Arbitrary Ouster of Govs

Kemi Olaitan in Ibadan

A former President of Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Chief Wole Olanipekun, SAN, has said the role he and other lawyers played to challenge the removal of former governor Rasidi Ladoja of Oyo State, checkmated what he described as arbitrary removal of governors and their deputies.

Ladoja was impeached from office in 2005 and later reinstated in 2006 after a judgement by the Supreme Court that described his removal as unconstitutional.

Olanipekun said he and other senior lawyers were the ones that went to the various courts to defend the impeachment, which led to the reinstatement of the former governor.

The former NBA president made these assertions while delivering a keynote address at the opening of 70th anniversary of Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) Ibadan branch.

The event was attended by the Deputy Governor of Oyo State, Barrister Abdul-Raheem Adebayo Lawal; Olubadan of Ibadanland, Oba Akinloye Owolabi Olakulehin, who was represented by Chief Ademola Odunade and Minister of Justice and Attorney General, Lateef Fagbemi.

Olanipekun, while addressing the gathering said he and other lawyers among whom were Mallam Yusuf Ali, the  late Oluwarotimi Akeredolu, Kola Awodehin, Adeniyi Akintola, Prof. Taiwo Osipitan, Afolabi Fashanu and Mohammed Adoke, were the ones that went to challenge Ladoja’s impeachment at the Courts, stating that both the Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court agreed with them and declared the removal illegal.

Olanipekun added that the decisions had clearly checkmated the recklessness on the part of some legislators all over the country at arbitrarily removing governors and deputy governors from office.

“And with those decisions, the trial High Court declined jurisdiction to entertain the impeachment proceedings brought by the Speaker of the Oyo State House of Assembly and some legislators, who were opposed to the wanton removal from office of the then Governor of Oyo State, Rasheed Adewolu Ladoja.

“Both the Court of Appeal and Supreme Court agreed with us, that is, counsel to the Speaker and later (when Ladoja joined as a party at the Court of Appeal (my humble self, Mallam Yusuf Ali, SAN, Oluwarotimi Akeredolu, SAN, Kola Awodehin, SAN, Adeniyi Akintola, SAN, Prof. Taiwo Osipitan, SAN, Afolabi Fashanu, SAN, Moharnmed Adoke, SAN. (leading several other members of the Utter Bar).

“For the appellants were O.A. Ayanlaja, SAN, L.O. Fagbemi, SAN, J.K. Gadzama, SAN, Chris Uche, SAN (leading other members of the Utter Bar, although M. F. Lana was then the Attorney-General of Oyo State) that section 188 (10) cannot be read in isolation of section 188 (1)(9) and that for the ouster clause in section 188 (10) to be activated by any court, it must have been demonstrated that the legislators had complied with the provisions of section 188(1)-(9).

“I dare say that that decision had clearly checkmated the recklessness on the part of some legislators all over the country at arbitrarily removing Governors and Deputy Governors from office,” he said.