The Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) has vehemently condemned the suspension of the Chief Judge of Osun State, Oyebola Ojo, by the state government.
Quest Times reports that the suspension was ordered by the House of Assembly during a plenary session on Thursday, pending the outcome of an investigation against Ojo.
In a swift response, the state governor, Ademola Adeleke, approved the resolution of the assembly and appointed Justice Olayinka Afolabi as the acting Chief Judge.
However, this move has been met with fierce opposition from the NBA, which has declared Ojo’s removal as unlawful.
In a statement released on Friday by its National Publicity Secretary, Akorede Lawal, the NBA denounced the action of the Osun State government, terming it an “unwarranted assault on the judiciary.”
Lawal asserted that the actions of Governor Adeleke and the Osun State House of Assembly were blatant attempts to intimidate the judiciary.
He emphasized that the provisions of the Nigerian Constitution clearly outline the process for removing a Chief Judge from office, and that the state government’s actions were a clear violation of these provisions.
The statement read in part: “The NBA unequivocally condemns this unlawful action by the Osun State Government. The action of the state government is an abuse of the rule of law and a desecration of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 ( as amended).
“In very vivid terms, the actions of Governor Adeleke and the Osun State House of Assembly are unwarranted assaults on the judiciary and aimed at intimidation.
While citing the landmark case of Nganjiwa v FRN, the statement affirmed that a Chief Judge cannot be removed without the involvement of the National Judicial Council (NJC).
The NBA also criticized the Osun State government for disregarding a court order restraining it from removing the Chief Judge.
“The NBA is further worried and troubled that in going about its unlawful endeavour, the Osun State Government chose to ignore the lawful order of interim injunction granted by the National Industrial Court sitting in Ibadan, which restrained the Governor of Osun State from interfering with the office of the Chief Judge of Osun State.
The statement further declared that this disregard for the rule of law was unacceptable, as all decisions of the court must be obeyed until they are set aside by a superior court.