The battle between Kogi State Judiciary and the state’s House of Assembly took a new twist on Monday when the members of the bench approached state High Court sitting in Koton-Karfe to nullify the April 2 resolution of the Kogi State House of Assembly recommending the removal of the state’s Chief Judge, Justice Nasir Ajanah.
The motion was filed by Chief Adegboyega Awomolo (SAN) leading 11 other lawyers, including five SANs, on behalf of the claimants/applicants, Justice Ajanah and the Chief Registrar of the state high court, Alhaji Yahaya Adamu.
The Kogi State House of Assembly; its Speaker, Bello Abdullahi; the Chairman, House Ad Hoc Committee; Kogi State Governor and the Attorney General of Kogi State are all respondents in the motion.
The plaintiffs argued that the lawmakers’ decision to remove the CJ was made in defiance to a suit and an interim order made by the court.
READ ALSO: Train crushes beggar to death in Lagos, NRC confirms
They requested an order nullifying the resolution purportedly passed by the House at its plenary of April 2, 2019 in defiance of the pending suit.
The House had resolved that, “The Chief Judge of Kogi State (the 1st claimant/applicant herein) be removed for alleged gross misconduct, and (ii) that the Chief Registrar of Kogi State High Court (2nd claimant/applicant herein) should be referred to the Kogi State Judicial Service Commission for disciplinary action for misconduct.”
However, Awomolo insisted that the action of the lawmakers amounted to self-help, adding that they deprecated the court, because there was a pending suit on the subject matter.
n a 15-paragraph affidavit which he deposed to, the Chief Registrar, Adamu, said the court had on December 12, 2018, restrained the defendants from interfering in any way in the discharge of duties by the CJ and the CR.
Leave a Reply