Biyi Samuel/ Akure
Governor Oluwarotimi Akeredolu, SAN, and the National Judicial Council, NJC, have been given seven days to remove the Ondo state Acting Chief Judge, Justice Temitayo Osoba from the office for alleged age falsification and for over staying in office in violation of provisions of the 1999 Constitution (as amended).
An Akure based legal Practitioner and Human right lawyer, Femi Emmanuel-Emodamori, in a letter addressed to Justice Osoba and copied to the governor, NJC, the State House of Assembly and the Nigerian Bar Association, NBA, pointed out that section 271(5) of the Constitution do not allow anybody to be in acting capacity as chief judge of a state for more than three months.
Emodamori noted that since Justice Osoba’s appointment had not been confirmed by the state Assembly and the NJC since she was sworn-in on 23rd January, 2017 by Former governor Olusegun Mimiko, it was illegal for her to continue to breach the Constitution by occupying the position.
The Human right lawyer insisted that since the Acting CJ could not be reappointed after almost four months in office, failure to removal immediately would amount to illegality and it would bring Ondo state and the Nation’s judicial system to disrepute.
He alleged the academic records of Justice Osoba at Fiwasaye Grammar School, Akure indicates that she was born in 1950 whereas she had been claiming to have been born in 1957.
ssaid, “Your lordship was sworn-in as the acting Chief Judge of Ondo State on Monday 23rd January, 2017. It is now Three (3) months and Twenty-Three (23) days since your lordship was sworn-in as the acting Chief Judge”.
“I am personally not unaware of series of rumor of allegation of falsification of age and academic qualification data surrounding your lordship, part of which was that your lordship claimed to have been born in 1957 but was actually born in 1950 and enrolled as a student in Fiwasaye Grammar School in Akure in 1961.
As a matter of fact, the loud whisper in the public domain is that your lordship was actually a classmate of one Adejisola Adegoke, the wife of one Dr. Adegoke, a retired Permanent Secretary, in the said Fiwasaye Grammar School”.
“The deafening silence from virtually all the stakeholders in this matter is amazing. I would not be part of it. According to the late legal legend, Chief Gani Fawehinmi, a legal practitioner must be prepared to stand for the truth, stand by the truth and stand on the truth even if he has to stand alone”, Emodamori said.
