Fayose’s Impeachment Latest: Ekiti Governor Takes APC To Court, Loses Case

April 8, 2015 – Fayoses Loses Court Case To Stop APC Members From Impeaching Him, Abuja High Court Rejects His Plea

Abuja High Court Stops Fayose From Blocking Impeachment Move

Governor Ayo Fayose of Ekiti State and his Deputy, Olusola Kolapo lost Wednesday in a bid to stop the ongoing move for their impeachment.

A Federal High Court in Abuja rejected their prayers for interim orders restraining the state’s Speaker, Adewale Omirin, other All Progressives Congress (APC) members of the state’s Assembly, the state Chief Judge, Justice Ayodeji Daramola and others from proceeding with the impeachment plot.

Justice Ahmed Mohammed, in a ruling on their motion ex-parte, granted them leave for substituted services of all processes in relation to the suit, marked: FHC/ABJ/CS/302/2015, on the defendants.

The judge ordered Omirin and the other defendants in the suit to appear before the court on April 16 to show cause why the restraining orders sought against them by the plaintiffs should not be granted.

Plaintiffs in the suit include Olugbemi Joseph Dele (who claimed to be Speaker of the State Assembly), Ekiti State House of Assembly, Fayose and Kolapo.

Listed as defendants are Omirin, the Inspector General of Police (IGP), Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and the Chief Judge, Ekiti State.
Plaintiffs’ lawyer, Ahmed Raji, while moving the ex-parte motion yesterday, argued that since Omirin was currently in court challenging his impeachment, he could no longer act under any guise as Speaker of the

Ekiti Assembly, while Dele was already acting in his place.
“The gravamen of our complaint is that a former Speaker of the parliament (in the person of the 1st defendant) is trying to impersonate the 1st plaintiff (Dele), who is the current Speaker of the parliament by holding himself out as the Speaker of the House.

“We urge the court to grant our prayers as contained in the motion in the name of public order, peace and safety of the people of Ekiti State,” Raji said.

He drew the judge’s attention to newspaper publication that one person had been killed since the move to impeach the governor and his deputy began.

In his ruling, Justice Mohammed granted prayers one to four of the eight prayers contained in the ex-parte motion.

He ordered that court processes should be served on Omirin and the state’s CJ through substituted means through newspaper advertisement.

He also ordered that the CJ should be served through the Chief Registrar of the Ekiti High Court.

[Reported By Eric Ikhihale, The Nation Abuja]