Court Fines Ondo Deputy Governor, Lucky Aiyedatiwa N200,000 Over Lawyer Absence

Justice O. Akintan-Osadebay of an Ondo State High Court in Akure fined Deputy Governor Mr. Lucky Aiyedatiwa N200,000 because his lawyer didn’t show up to argue against his impeachment.

Aiyedatiwa filed a motion in court to stop the Chief Judge, Justice Olusegun Odusola, and the House of Assembly from impeaching him. This motion is pending the outcome of his appeal against a court ruling that dismissed his case.

Justice Akintan-Osadebay dismissed Aiyedatiwa’s suit (AK/348/2023) because it was considered an abuse of the judicial process. A similar suit had been filed by the Deputy Governor at the Federal High Court in Abuja regarding the same impeachment.

Following the dismissal, the Deputy Governor filed a Notice of Appeal and requested the court to restrain the House of Assembly and the Chief Judge from proceeding with the impeachment until his appeal was heard and decided.

When the case resumed, the legal representatives of the House of Assembly and the Chief Judge were present in court, but the Deputy Governor’s counsel was notably absent.

The counsel for the State House of Assembly, Femi Emodamori, informed the court that the motion for an injunction had been adjourned yesterday due to an agreement between both parties.

Emodamori expressed concern and questioned why Aiyedatiwa’s counsel was absent and had not taken the appropriate steps to inform the court about the absence.

Justice Akintan-Osadebay, in his response, ordered the deputy governor to pay fines of N50,000 to each of the following individuals: the Speaker of the Assembly, Mr. Olamide Oladiji; the House of Assembly; the Clerk to the House, Benjamin Jaiyola; and the Chief Judge. These individuals were named as the 3rd to 6th respondents in the motion.

He adjourned the hearing of the motion till November 7, 2023.

The presiding judge imposed the N200,000 fine on Aiyedatiwa for wasting the court’s time and causing inconvenience to the other parties involved.

Kanyi Daily recalls that the State House of Assembly had requested the state’s Chief Judge, Justice Olusegun Odusola, to establish a panel for investigating allegations of gross misconduct against  Mr. Lucky Aiyedatiwa.