The Court presided over by Justice Adetan Osadebey in her ruling, described the purported removal and impeachment of Ogundeji, as illegal, null and void by the lawmakers.
The Judge, Osadebey, said Ogundeji was not given a fair hearing before the purported impeachment was carried out, noting a panel to investigate Ogundeji was set up by the Assembly after his impeachment.
She likened the action of the assembly to putting the cart before the horse, noting in her judgement that the claimant was not personally served by the impeachment proceedings which made it a nullity.
According to the judge, there was no parliamentary resolution before the purported impeachment was carried out, saying not all members of the Assembly were present during the impeachment process as required by the rules of the Assembly and the 1999 constitution.
The court held that signing of parliamentary meeting attendance was not tantamount to consent, as only 17 out of the 26-member assembly were present at the sitting while nine members dissociated themselves from the purported impeachment.
The court ordered that Ogundeji should be reinstated and all his entitlements be paid up-to-date while his paranephelia of office should be restored immediately, saying that the appointment of Aderoboye was described as a nullity.
Justice Osadebey however, awarded N10 million as damages for the humiliation suffered by the lawmaker during his purported impeachment and suspension from the Assembly.
It will be recalled that Ogundeji was removed as the deputy speaker on November 24, 2020, by some members of the Assembly, while Hon. Samuel Aderoboye was appointed as the Deputy Speaker of the state house of assembly.
The removal of Ogundeji by the leadership of the House as a deputy speaker of the Assembly was a sequel to the disagreement between him and the Speaker of the Assembly, Hon. David Oleyeloogun over the plan to remove former Deputy Governor of the State, Chief Agboola Ajayi, from office.
The Assembly later appointed Aderoboye as the Deputy Speaker, the position he was occupying at the time of the court judgment.
Displeased with the action of the Assembly, Ogundeji through his lawyer, Mr Wale Omotoso SAN, approached the court to challenge the decision of the Assembly, noting that the purported impeachment failed to follow the constitutional requirements.
The lawmaker said his purported removal contravened order two section 9(1-10) of the rules and standing order of the state house of assembly.
According to him, the law required two-thirds majority of the members before any of the principal officers of the Assembly could be impeached, while the Assembly through the Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, Mr Charles Titiloye said the impeachment followed due process, saying the impeachment proceeding was served through substituted means.
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