Illegal and Unlawful Removal of Rt. Hon. Mudashiru Ajayi Obasa as Speaker of the Lagos State House of Assembly is Unacceptable – CCHR

Unlawful removal of Rt Hon Mudashiru Ajayi Obasa is not only unlawful but also failed to follow the constitutional provisions for the removal of a speaker of a house of Assembly.

The law presumed anyone accused of an offence is innocent until it’s proven otherwise.

To prove otherwise is achievable only through fair hearing.

Rt. Hon. Obasa has not been interrogated by any committee to investigate any form of misconduct levelled against him. He is entitled to fair hearing in accordance with 1999 Constitution of Federal Republic of Nigeria as altered.

Those accusing the speaker can’t be the judge in their own case.

Without mincing words, over ambition and over zealousness of some legislators are the main reasons for the kangaroo impeachment and can not stand.

Impeachment of a speaker is not an activity that should be opaque to the public/ electorate that the legislators represent.

Offences and reasons to commence impeachment proceedings ought to have been formally communicated to the speaker and made public. An unbiased committee also ought to have been put in place to investigate the authenticity or otherwise of the allegations and report given to the house.

All these are lacking, hence the so called impeachment can not stand.

Impeachment proceedings are not taken as unanimous decisions and cant be taken as voice vote, therefore it’s laughable to have seen a legislator claiming decision to impeach was unanimously taken. At which plenary was such decision taken?

While the legislative house has the right to decide to change it’s leadership, it must conform with the rule of law or else it becomes a coup which cant stand in a democracy .

Lagos State should not be taken as a state where a clique can sit in a corner and forced it’s unpopular decision on majority of the law abiding members of the house of Assembly that are truly conscious of rule of law and Constitutionalism.

The so called impeachment can not stand.Every legitimate means, including the court of law, shall be applied to protect the sanctity of democratic norms. Whims and caprices of some elements can not and will never take precedence over rule of law.

Toyin Raheem
Executive Secretary, CCHR