Court Joins Other Lagos Assembly Members in Obasa Suit
Justice Yetunde Rukayat Pinheiro of the Lagos State High Court in Ikeja has, on Friday, joined all members of the Lagos State House of Assembly as parties in the suit filed by the former Speaker, Mudashiru Obasa.
The court’s decision to allow the application for Joinder came after the lawmakers, through their lawyer, Olu Daramola (SAN), moved the application, which was not opposed by Obasa’s counsel, Afolabi Fashanu (SAN), or that of the new Speaker, Mojisola Meranda, Tayo Oyetibo (SAN).
The court adjourned the case to March 7 to hear all pending applications.
In the suit, Obasa is challenging the legality of his removal from office by 36 lawmakers while the House was on recess, alleging that his removal on January 13, 2025, was unlawful, as he was out of the country at the time.
During the court proceedings, a mild drama unfolded when lawyer Abang Mkpandiok contested Femi Falana’s (SAN) earlier announcement that he was representing the Lagos State House of Assembly. Mkpandiok claimed that he had been briefed by the Assembly the previous evening and had filed his motion for a change of counsel Friday morning.
He emphasized that the right to choose counsel is a fundamental human right and urged the court to prioritize his application. However, Falana objected, stating he had not been served and remained the counsel on record for the Assembly. Oyetibo also confirmed he had not been served with the application. Mkpandiok then chose to serve the application to the other counsels present in court.
Upon reviewing the court’s records, Justice Pinheiro concluded that the application for the change of counsel was not yet ripe for hearing and deferred it until all parties had been served in accordance with court rules. The court also postponed deciding on the application for accelerated hearing.
Obasa is seeking an order for the court to set a date for the expedited hearing of the case and to reduce the time allotted for the defendants to submit counter-affidavits or written addresses to seven days after the hearing. He also requests the court to limit the time for the plaintiff to file replies on points of law to three days.
Obasa’s application challenges the constitutionality of the sitting and proceedings of the Lagos State House of Assembly during its recess without the Speaker’s authorization. He argues that this violates various sections of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended), and the Rules and Standing Orders of the Lagos State House of Assembly.
The former Speaker asserts that resolving the matter quickly is in the public interest to avoid disrupting legislative activities in the state and to ensure that the current leadership of the Assembly is lawfully determined.
