The former Speaker of the Lagos State House of Assembly, Mudashiru Obasa, has filed a lawsuit against the Assembly and the new Speaker, Mojisola Meranda, before the Lagos State High Court in Ikeja, challenging the legality of his removal from office.
The suit, which is yet to be assigned to a judge, seeks a court declaration that his colleagues in the House acted unlawfully by removing him while the Assembly was on recess.
In the application dated 12 February 2025 and filed by his lawyer, Chief Afolabi Fashanu, SAN, the plaintiff claimed that he was removed from his position on 13 January 2025 by 36 lawmakers while he was out of the country.
The impeached lawmaker is seeking the following reliefs: an order of the court to fix a date for an accelerated hearing of the case and to shorten the time allowed for the defendants to respond with counter-affidavits or written addresses to seven days after the hearing.
Obasa also asked the court to limit the time for the plaintiff to file replies on points of law to three days.
His application is based on nine grounds, focusing on the interpretation of various sections of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended), and the Rules and Standing Orders of the Lagos State House of Assembly.
The plaintiff challenges the constitutionality of the Lagos State House of Assembly’s sitting and proceedings during recess without the Speaker convening the House or delegating authority to another person.
“Public interest necessitates that this case be heard and resolved quickly to avoid disruption of legislative activities in the state,” Obasa argued.
He maintained that the court must urgently determine the legality of the Assembly’s current leadership, as it violates applicable laws and rules.
He further asserted that the court holds inherent powers to grant expedited hearings and impose time limitations.
No date has been fixed for the hearing.
Obasa was impeached on 13 January while he was out of the country by more than two-thirds of the 40-member legislative house over alleged misconduct and other offences.
His deputy, Mojisola Meranda, was immediately elected as the new Speaker, making history as the first female to lead the legislative body in the South-West state.
Obasa returned to a welcome rally at his residence in GRA, Ikeja, on 25 January, maintaining that he was not afraid of being impeached but insisted that due process had not been followed.
The former Speaker alleged that his removal was orchestrated while he was away and accused the Lagos State Commissioner of Police of facilitating the process.
He claimed that security agents, led by the police commissioner, invaded the Assembly complex and his homes in Agege and Ikeja, locking his family indoors with over 200 officers present.
Obasa also dismissed allegations of misappropriation.
