The impeached Speaker of the Lagos State House of Assembly, Mudashiru Obasa, has initiated legal proceedings against the Assembly and the successor Speaker, Mojisola Meranda, in the Lagos State High Court located in Ikeja, contesting the legitimacy of his ousting from his position.
The legal action, which has not yet been allocated to a presiding judge, seeks a judicial pronouncement affirming that his fellow legislators in the House acted unlawfully by effecting his removal during the Assembly’s recess.
In the motion dated 12 February 2025 and submitted by his legal representative, Chief Afolabi Fashanu, SAN, the petitioner asserted that he was dismissed from his role on 13 January 2025 by 36 legislators while he was abroad.
The ousted legislator is pursuing the following judicial remedies: an order from the court to schedule an expedited hearing of the matter and to reduce the timeframe allotted for the defendants to submit counter-affidavits or written submissions to a mere seven days following the hearing.
Obasa additionally requested that the court impose a limitation on the duration available for the plaintiff to file responses regarding points of law to three days.
His motion is grounded on nine distinct grounds, which concentrate on the interpretation of various provisions of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended), as well as the Rules and Standing Orders governing the Lagos State House of Assembly.
The plaintiff disputes the constitutionality of the proceedings and meetings of the Lagos State House of Assembly convened during its recess, conducted without the Speaker’s summons or the delegation of authority to another individual.
He contended that it is imperative for the court to swiftly ascertain the legality of the current leadership within the Assembly, as it contravenes relevant laws and procedural regulations.
“Public interest necessitates that this case be heard and resolved quickly to avoid disruption of legislative activities in the state,” Obasa argued.
He further maintained that the court possesses inherent jurisdiction to grant expedited hearings and impose temporal constraints.
No specific date for the hearing has been established.
Obasa was impeached on 13 January while he was outside the country by a supermajority of the 40-member legislative body over purported misconduct and various infractions.
His deputy, Mojisola Meranda, was promptly elected as the new Speaker, thereby achieving the distinction of being the first female to preside over the legislative assembly in the South-Western state.
Upon his return to a welcoming gathering at his residence in GRA, Ikeja, on 25 January, Obasa asserted that he harbored no fear of impeachment but insisted that the requisite procedural norms were not adhered to.
The former Speaker claimed that his removal was schemed while he was abroad and accused the Lagos State Commissioner of Police of facilitating the impeachment process.
He alleged that law enforcement officials, led by the police commissioner, invaded the Assembly premises as well as his residences in Agege and Ikeja, confining his family indoors with an overwhelming presence of over 200 officers.
Obasa also refuted the accusations of financial misappropriation.
