Drama as court reinstates suspended Ogun Assembly deputy speaker

The Ogun State House of Assembly has accused a former deputy speaker of the House, Dare Kadiri, of invading the Assembly complex on Friday after a court voided his suspension.

The state high court had in Abeokuta on Friday, nullified the suspension of Mr Kadiri by the Assembly since March 2022, describing it as unconstitutional.

Mr Kadiri represents Ijebu North Constituency 2 at the Assembly. He was impeached as deputy speaker a week after the House passed a petition for his removal.

The petitioners had accused him of many wrongdoings, including insubordination to the Office of the Speaker through un-authorised approval of expenditure, involving an external body in the affairs of the House without exploring internal mechanism for resolution of issues, abuse of office, threat to lives and properties, conduct likely to cause breach of peace and attempted murder allegedly in his constituency.

Mr Kadiri was subsequently removed as the deputy speaker and suspended from the Assembly in March 2022.

But on Friday, Justice O. A. Onafowokan of High Court 3, Abeokuta, held that the suspension was an abuse of power and abuse of office by the Speaker of the Assembly, Olakunle Oluomo, the House of Assembly and the Clerk of the House.

The court further ordered that all emoluments due to him since his suspension be immediately paid by the state House of Assembly.

After Mr Kadiri’s suspension, the Assembly elected Hakeem Balogun as the deputy speaker.

Drama

Immediately after the ruling around on Friday, Mr Kadiri, who was a military man, went straight to his former office as the deputy speaker.

A staff of the Assembly told PREMIUM TIMES that Mr Kadiri was accompanied by bus loads of supporters whose presence caused panic at the assembly complex.

Later, in a statement on Friday, the Deputy Clerk of the assembly, Funmi Adeyemi, accused Mr Kadiri of invasion of the complex.

She described the incident as a desecration of the legislature.

”Mr Kadiri and some thugs invaded the Assembly complex around 11a.m. this morning with a bus filled with thugs and made his way into the office of the Clerk of the Assembly, Deji Adeyemo, and that of the Deputy Speaker, Akeem Balogun.

Mrs Adeyemi said while addressing Mr Kadiri’s counsel, she enjoined him to guide his client on the need to follow due process by serving the Assembly the certified true copy of the said judgement.

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“Upon request for the said judgement, Kadiri, who had not purged himself of the same reason for which he was suspended, made his way to the Office of Deputy Speaker to occupy the office. Whereas, Kadiri was only in court to contest his suspension as a member of Ogun State House of Assembly and not as a Deputy Speaker of the Assembly.

“It took the intervention of some security agencies who led him and his thugs out of the Assembly premises after he had earlier shunned all entreaties from the Deputy Clerk of the House.

“For the records, Ogun Assembly is not aware of the judgement and the same Kadiri has not presented the Certified True Copy of same to the Assembly. This is a procedure that a supposed lawmaker should not be taught.”