Ola Ajayi
22 June 2008
Lagos — AFTER three months of dilly-dallying, Governor Adebayo Alao-Akala of Oyo State has finally succumbed to the directive of the National Judicial Council (NJC) as he has given the approval that Justice Isaiah Olakanmi, the state Chief Judge, should proceed on indefinite leave pending the resolution of his case by the court of law.
He has been replaced by Justice Ige who was removed by the governor when he reportedly failed to dance to the tune of the governor to ensure that the indictment slammed on him by his predecessor was quashed. His re-appointment takes effect from tomorrow.
After the removal of Ige, Olakanmi was reinstated amid controversy by the governor after the retirement of the former Acting Chief Judge, Justice Afolabi Adeniran, on 20 August, 2007. But, the NJC, in a letter, dated March 31, 2008, faulted Olakanmi's reinstatement by the governor and recommended that he should be removed from office as he was no longer recognized as the state CJ.
The removed judge had, during the tenure of the former governor of the state, Senator Rashidi Ladoja, been recommended for dismissal by 23 judges in the state which both the then House of Assembly and the governor assented to. In the letter sent to the governor, the disciplinary body directed the governor to ensure the immediate removal of Olakanmi which the governor, until last week, was reluctant to effect.
The reluctance of the governor to yield to the directive of the NJC drew the ire of the members of the Nigerian Bar Association ( Ibadan branch) who insisted that rule of law must be upheld. To compel the government to take the necessary step, the association directed all its members to boycott the court of the embattled CJ and another judge in the state who was equally axed by the NJC.
Defending the action of the government, the special adviser to the governor on public communication, Prince Dotun Oyelade, said "government stayed this long because of the need for comprehensive briefing from NJC and the intercourse of correspondences between the two parties, government and NJC, have been most productive.
"Now that Hon Justice Olakanmi has gone to court to challenge his removal, the governor felt quite obliged to disengage from the issue entirely and leave it in the hands of the court, the NJC and the respondent".
The governor's spokesperson went on: "The essential thing in the mind of the governor is that the course of justice must manifest. Justice precedes any other consideration.
"You will recall that government's initial response to the controversy was that we stood by the original decision of the NJC which disagrees with the manner of his removal and that of the state House of Assembly which reinstated him. By sending the former CJ on compulsory leave, the governor feels no encumbrance in the way of justice even as we await the court ruling".
In his own reaction to the removal of the CJ, the chairman, NBA ( Ibadan branch), Mr. Obafunso Ogunkeye, said that the insistence of the association that government should act on the order of the NJC was not an indication that the body hated the former CJ but to see that the rule of law was not infringed upon.
He described the removal as long overdue. According to him,"We are vindicated as to our position that he has no locus standi to continue to act in that capacity. If it had taken the government this long to do, so, we have nothing to say to that but you will agree with me that a lot of time has been wasted.
"We have not been frivolous in our demands, the latest action of the government has confirmed that we are fighting a just cause. It is nothing personal against Olakanmi but we are merely acting in line with the law and we wanted the governor to stick to his oath of office and constitution by doing the right thing."
Meanwhile, Sunday Vanguard gathered that since the former CJ got his letter, last week, he has stopped coming to office.
Be the first to Write a Comment!
Copyright © 2008 Vanguard. All rights reserved. Distributed by AllAfrica Global Media (allAfrica.com). To contact the copyright holder directly for corrections — or for permission to republish or make other authorized use of this material, click here.
AllAfrica aggregates and indexes content from over 125 African news organizations, plus more than 200 other sources, who are responsible for their own reporting and views. Articles and commentaries that identify allAfrica.com as the publisher are produced or commissioned by AllAfrica.
