BREAKING: Lagos High Court Rules Obasa’s Removal as Speaker Illegal, Awards N500,000 in Damages
Justice Yetunde Pinheiro of the Lagos State High Court has ruled that the removal of Mudashiru Obasa, the reinstated Speaker of Lagos State House of Assembly, was both illegal and unconstitutional.
In a judgement delivered on Wednesday, the court nullified the proceedings and resolutions of the Assembly that took place on January 13, 2025, during which Obasa was removed from office.
The court also awarded Obasa N500,000 in damages for his unlawful removal and the psychological distress caused by the incident.
Obasa had filed a lawsuit against the Lagos State House of Assembly and the then newly appointed Speaker, Mojisola Meranda, challenging the legality of his removal.
The suit, filed on February 12, 2025, by his lawyer, Chief Afolabi Fashanu, SAN, argued that Obasa’s removal by 36 lawmakers took place while the Assembly was on recess and while he was out of the country.
He requested the court to declare the removal process unlawful, and asserted that the sitting was invalid because it was convened without the speaker’s authority or any formal delegation of power.
Obasa’s legal challenge was based on nine grounds, citing the interpretation of various provisions of the 1999 Constitution (as amended), as well as the Rules and Standing Orders governing the Lagos State House of Assembly.
Delivering her judgement, which lasted nearly three hours, Pinheiro ruled that only the leaders of the House of Assembly had the authority to request the speaker to convene a meeting. She held that the Chief Whip was not considered a leader for this purpose.
The court pointed out that under Order 7 of the House Rules, there was a defined hierarchy, and Rule 30, which related to the authority of the Chief Whip, did not grant him the power to convene meetings.
As a result, the court declared that all actions taken to reconvene the meeting were invalid, and that the fact that a majority of members voted during the proceedings was irrelevant.
“The defendants cannot validly remove the Speaker without complying with Order 2, Rule 9 of the Lagos State House of Assembly Rules,” the court ruled.
Pinheiro consequently annulled the sitting of the Lagos State House of Assembly, the purported removal of Obasa as Speaker, and the installation of Mojisola Meranda as the new Speaker.
The court agreed with Obasa’s claim that the case raised justiciable issues for adjudication, and as a result, dismissed the preliminary objections.
The court awarded Obasa N500,000 in damages for his unlawful removal and the emotional distress it caused him.
