The counsel to the Ondo State House of Assembly, Barr. Femi Emodamori has written to the Chief Judge of Ondo State, Justice Olusegun Odusola on the need to carry out the resolution of the state House of Assembly in line with the 1999 Constitution as amended.
Below is the full text of the letter to the CJ;
The Honourable Chief Judge of Ondo State, Ondo State High Court Complex Hospital Road, Akure.
My Lord, The Honourable Chief Judge
RE: REQUEST BY ONDO STATE HOUSE OF ASSEMBLY FOR YOUR LORDSHIP TO CONSTITUTE A SEVEN-MAN INVESTIGATION PANEL TO INVESTIGATE ALLEGATIONS OF GROSS MISCONDUCT AGAINST THE DEPUTY GOVERNOR OF ONDO STATE, HIS EXCELLENCY, HON. LUCKY ORIMISAN AIYEDATIWA;
We are Solicitors to the Ondo State House of Assembly (hereinafter referred to as “Our Client”), and we had in that capacity written a letter to your lordship on 29th September, 2023 on the above subject-matter. We wrote the letter prior to Our Client’s formal request to your lordship to constitute a Seven-man Panel to investigate the allegations of gross misconduct against the Deputy-Governor of Ondo State, His Excellency, Hon. Lucky Orimisan Aiyedatiwa, in line with Section 188(5) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (As Amended).
In that letter, we supported our humble view that your lordship is not, and
cannot in any way be hindered from carrying out the constitutional
obligation to set up the Panel whenever such request was formally
communicated by Our Client, considering the express provisions of Section 188 (10) of the Constitution and the decisions of the appellate courts in (1) ABARIBE V ABIA STATE HOUSE OF ASSEMBLY (2002) 14 NWLR (PT. 788) PAGE 446 AT PAGE 492, PARAS F-G, and PAGES 506-507, (2) INAKOJU v. ADELEKE (2007) 4 NWLR (PT 1025) 423 at 653 PARAS C-D and (3) KALU V. F.R.N (2014) 1 NWLR (PT. 1389) P. 479 at 521-522, PARAS F-F, where the Court of Appeal stated clearly that “A superior court of record cannot issue an order prohibiting or restraining the proceedings of another superior court of record. A court will not by injunction restrain proceedings of court of co-ordinate jurisdiction.”
Now that Our Client has formally requested your lordship to constitute the Panel, we respectfully seek to submit further reasons and legal authorities why the Panel needs to be constituted without any extraneous
considerations.
1. Based on the express provisions of Section 188(5) of the Constitution, your lordship’s obligation to constitute the Panel, just like every stage in the impeachment process, is strictly time-bound. Your lordship is obligated to constitute the Panel within Seven days from 3rd October, 2023 when the request by Our Client was communicated.
2. Based on Section 188 (10) of the Constitution, no court proceedings
or order (if any) can stop the impeachment process, particularly at this stage. This was sufficiently dealt with by the Court of Appeal in ABARIBE V ABIA STATE HOUSE OF ASSEMBLY (2002) 14 NWLR
(PT. SUPRA) AT PAGES 506-507.
3. In view of the unequivocal decisions of the appellate Courts in the above cases, any purported court Order restraining Our Client and/or your lordship from initiating or proceeding with the impeachment proceedings, would be automatically null and void. In this regard, and contrary to some erroneous opinion that an order which is clearly a nullity must still be obeyed until it is set aside, it is pertinent to
commend your lordship to the Supreme Court decision in DAKAN V.
ASALU (2015) 13 NWLR (PT 1475) SC 47 AT 73 PARAS B – C, where
the Court held that:
“If an act is void, then in law is a nullity. It is not only bad, but incurably bad. There is no need for an order of the court to set it aside. It is automatically null and void without much ado; though it is sometimes convenient to have the court to declare it to be so. And every proceeding which is founded on it is also bad and incurably bad. You cannot put something on nothing and expect it to stay there. It will collapse. ”
The Supreme Court again restated the above principle of law in ODEDO V OGUEBEGO (2015)13 NWLR (PT 1476) 229 AT 267 PARAS
D-F.
Instructively, my lord, Our Client was not even served any such purported order till date. Our Client managed to obtain a copy of it from other parties and thereupon proceeded to write a petition to the National Judicial Council (NJC) against Hon. Justice Emeka Nwite of the Federal High Court who made the ex facie unconstitutional Order.
A copy of the Petition has now been made available to us by Our Client, and same is attached to this letter.
In setting up the Panel, your lordship is acting as the Chief Judge of Ondo State (the Head of Ondo State High Court), and not in a personal capacity. Your lordship therefore symbolizes the authority of Ondo State High Court, and based on the express decision of the
Court of Appeal in KALU V. F.R.N (2014) 1 NWLR (SUPRA), your lordship is definitely not bound by the purported Order of Justice Emeka Nwite of the Federal High Court, being a Court of equal or
coordinate jurisdiction, assuming such Order was rightly made and/or served on your lordship.
My lord, realizing the fact that every stage of the impeachment
proceedings as outlined in Section 188 (1) – (9) of the Constitution is
time bound, Our Client waited till 3rd October, 2023, being the fourteenth (14th) and last day after the notice of impeachment was presented in its plenary on 20th September, 2023, to move the motion to investigate the Deputy-Governor, and to request your lordship to constitute the Investigation Panel.
Our Client has therefore meticulously complied with the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended), which each of her members swore to uphold and defend.
We have no doubt that your lordship would in the same way uphold and defend the clear provisions of the Constitution in the impeachment proceedings, particularly Sections 188 (5) and 188 (10) thereof, by constituting the Panel within the constitutionally stipulated deadline of Seven (7) days.
I respectfully convey our highest regards to your lordship.
Yours faithfully,
Femi Emmanuel Emodamori
Cc: Ebunoluwa Adegboruwa, SAN.
C/o of the Ondo State Deputy Governor’s Office Alagbaka, Akure.
