An Ikeja High Court has declared that the dismissal of Mudashiru Obasa as the speaker of the Lagos State House of Assembly was illegal and unconstitutional.
Justice Yetunde Pinheiro, who made the declaration in her ruling on Wednesday, stated that the assembly members had erred in dismissing Obasa as speaker.
The judge emphasised that the plenary convened without Obasa knowledge and in his absence was invalid, as it lacked his authority or any formal delegation of power.
According to the House’s procedures, only designated leaders can summon the speaker to convene a meeting.
The court maintained that under the House rules, actions taken to reconvene plenary without proper authority rendered the process invalid, regardless of the majority vote.
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The ruling highlighted that the removal of a speaker must comply with specific constitutional provisions.
Citing previous cases, the judge affirmed that the issues raised were justiciable, leading to the dismissal of preliminary objections against the suit.
She subsequently awarded damages in favour of Obasa for his unlawful removal from office and the psychological distress it caused him.
Obasa had initially filed his legal challenge against the state House of Assembly and the newly appointed Speaker, Mojisola Meranda, on February 12, contesting the legality of his removal.
