NURTW vs Oyo Govt: Dear Mrs Falana, It Is Not in Our Character to Obey Court Judgements in Oyo State | Sola Abegunde
NURTW Vs Oyo State Government: Dear Mrs. Falana, It Is Not In Our Character To Obey Court Judgements In Oyo State | Sola Abegunde.
After reading the reaction of Mrs. Funmi Falana Esq to the continued disobedience of the judgment of the Court of Appeal which declared Governor Seyi Makinde’s suspension of the activities of the National Union of Road Transport Workers, NURTW as illegal, null and void, I felt compelled to write this piece.
The Court of Appeal in suit number CA/I/263/2022 had ruled that Governor Seyi Makinde lacks the powers to suspend the activities of the NURTW in Oyo state thereby paving the way for the resumption of activities by the Union across the state.
In their characteristic manner, the Government of Oyo state has continued to disobey the judgment of the Court of Appeal.
As a result of this disobedience, Counsel to the NURTW, Mrs. Funmi Falana Esq decided to write a letter to the Oyo state Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, Abiodun Aikomo, warning the Attorney General of the resolve of the Plaintiffs, ( NURTW) to commence Contempt proceedings against the Attorney General.
She threatened further, that her Clients may also report the Oyo state Attorney General to the Legal Practitioners Disciplinary Committee, LPDC for misconduct, if he goes on encouraging the disobedience of the Court of Appeal Judgment.
Honestly, I understand the frustrations of the NURTW Counsel.
The time, industry and resources committed to fighting a case up to the point of victory in our Law Courts ought not to be toyed with by anyone.
I do not know of what could be more frustrating and annoying than for a litigant who has committed resources, went through the rigours of Court processes and having been victorious, to be prevented from reaping the benefits of the judgment in his favor.
Unfortunately, it has become a thing of joy for Governor Seyi Makinde and his Attorney General to ensure that the labours of litigants, Counsels and of course, the Court goes in vain any time judgments of Courts go against them.
The Government of Seyi Makinde is a Law on its own and this is the reality the NURTW in Oyo state must be prepared to confront.
I will give some examples to back up my claims.
On 29th November, 2019, the Supreme Court of Nigeria, in Appeal number : SC/584/2013, between His Royal Highness, Oba Samuel Adebayo Adegbola and ors. Vs. Mr. James Idowu and ors, delivered what is supposed to be the final Judgement in the disputed Eleruwa of Eruwa stool.
The Supreme Court, just like the Oyo state High Court and the Court of Appeal ruled that the nomination and selection of the fellow who occupied the throne for over twenty years, Samuel Adebayo Adegbola was illegal, null and void.
The Court went further to rule that even though, it was the turn of the Olaribikusi Ruling House of Eruwa to nominate the next Eleruwa, Samuel Adebayo Adegbola is not a member of that Ruling House and Court thereby directed the Kingmakers to choose an Eleruwa from the trio of the validly nominated Prince Rasidi Oyedepo Ajao, Prince Lamidi Okunola and Prince Abiodun Ojelade.
The judgment of the Supreme Court on this occasion, just like in the instant case was very clear without any ambiguity but Governor Seyi Makinde ignored the judgment from 2019 until 2024 and after he had been elected for a second term in office, he rubbished the judgment in its entirety by handpicking the same fellow, Samuel Adebayo Adegbola, now, from the Akalako Ruling House as the Eleruwa of Eruwa in total disregard of the judgment of the three layers of the Nigerian Courts that ruled in favour of the Olaribikusi Ruling House!
To justify this sacrilegious action, Governor Seyi Makinde said that he gave the Olaribikusi Ruling House a particular time frame to select the Head of the family and they failed to comply and as a result of that failure to select a family head, he decided to cancel the rights of the Olaribikusi Ruling House to present an Eleruwa and awarded the right to the Akalako Ruling House, the Ruling House that presented the immediate past Eleruwa.
It will be important to shed some lights on how the Eleruwa of Eruwa should emerge under the 1957 Eleruwa of Eruwa Chieftaincy Declaration Laws.
The 1957 Eleruwa of Eruwa Chieftaincy Declaration Laws recognises two Ruling Houses, namely, the Akalako and the Olaribikusi Ruling Houses.
The Declaration also states that the stool should be rotated between these two Houses.
The immediate past Eleruwa, Oba Bolanle Olaniyan was from the Akalako Ruling House and therefore, when he passed away, it automatically became the turn of the Olaribikusi Ruling House to present the next Eleruwa.
The Olaribikusi Ruling House, just like Akalako has four Quarters.
Samuel Adebayo Adegbola usurped the slot of the Ajao Quarters of the Olaribikusi Ruling House and was selected as Eleruwa from the Olaribikusi line but his purported nomination and selection was later voided up to the Supreme Court.
The Supreme Court affirmed that he has no ties to the Olaribikusi Ruling House and that the next Eleruwa must come from the Olaribikusi Ruling House.
So, when Governor Seyi Makinde said that he took away the entitlement of the Olaribikusi Ruling House to present the next Eleruwa, he was not only disobeying the Supreme Court of Nigeria, he also rewrote the History of Eruwa.
In the first instance, his actions were premeditated.
The judgment of the Supreme Court was delivered in 2019 and he waited for no justifiable reasons to act on it until 2024.
Secondly, the judgment of the Supreme Court had taken the matter away from the realm of the selection of family Head for the Olaribikusi Ruling House.
The only process expected of government was to instruct the Eruwa Kingmakers through the Ibarapa East Local Government, to choose from the trio of Princes Oyedepo, Lamidi and Ojelade whose nominations under the Olaribikusi Ruling House were considered valid.
Sadly, Governor Seyi Makinde would have no Eleruwa if it would not be Samuel Adebayo Adegbola and he damned the Supreme Court by asking the Eruwa Kingmakers to re-select Samuel Adebayo Adegbola from the Akalako Ruling House!
He has since supervised the re-coronation of Adegbola as the Eleruwa of Eruwa from the Akalako Ruling House.
Two records were made. One, Adegbola had been occupying the stool of the Eleruwa and illegally so, from both the Olaribikusi and the Akalako Ruling Houses.
Secondly, the Akalako Ruling House has succeeded itself on the throne of Eruwa against the 1957 Eleruwa of Eruwa Chieftaincy Declaration!
Several cases are presently pending in Courts on a matter that ought to have been finally closed by the judgment of the Supreme Court on 29th November, 2019.
Dear Mrs. Falana, this is the kind of situation you are up against.
Let me also give another instance of Governor Makinde’s disdainful actions against judgments of Courts.
When the Supreme Court of Nigeria delivered the landmark judgment which granted financial autonomy to Local Governments, Governor Seyi Makinde not only observed a ‘ lacuna ‘ in the said judgment, he was critical of the judgment and said he would comply with the judgment according to ‘ an home grown solutions ‘ provided by a funny committee he set up to ‘ review ‘ the judgment of the apex Court in Nigeria!
Unfortunately, some mediocre and public affairs analysts who are ignorant about the Law kept applauding him.
They do not know that only the Supreme court is empowered to review its own judgement under very stringent circumstances.
It is also on record that Governor Seyi Makinde kept litigating on the judgment of the Supreme Court that declared his dissolution of elected Local Government Chairmen as illegal, null and void.
Governor Makinde, having lost at the Supreme Court still went up to the Court of Appeal, seeking for what he called ‘ interpretation ‘ of the judgment.
I have little or no problems with Governor Seyi Makinde for his condemnable actions of disobeying Court Judgments.
First, he is not a Lawyer even though, that shouldn’t be an excuse but the man himself publicly admitted that he could be very stubborn.
Not only that, each time he decided to disobey Court Judgments, he knew that he is covered by immunity from prosecution as a sitting Governor.
So, he could afford to be reckless, knowing that he couldn’t be slammed with contempt proceedings as a sitting Governor.
However, I do not know what to say about the tacit compliance of the Oyo state Commissioner for Justice!
What manner of advice has he been giving to Makinde?
What sort of legacy is the Attorney General building for himself?
Unlike the Governor, he doesn’t enjoy immunity from prosecution under any known Law.
He could also be reported to the LPDC and not only that, his present actions are capable of hurting him in the future if he decides to aspire for certain higher positions.
The Eleruwa case is a disaster.
The Judge who sat on the matter at the High Court later became the Chief Judge of Oyo state.
The current President of the Court of Appeal, Hon. Justice Domgban- Mensem headed the Panel that heard the matter at the Appeal Court and also prepared and read the lead judgment.
The current Chief Justice of Nigeria, Hon. Justice Kudirat Kekere-Ekun was a member of the Panel that heard and delivered judgment on the matter at the Supreme Court in 2019.
How could Mr. Aikomo be proud to be a part of the process that rubbished the industries of these eminent Jurists?
Mrs. Funmi Falana has invited my attention to the LPDC and I will personally submit a Petition to the Committee against Mr. Aikomo.
As a society, we owe it a duty to ensure that when people get drunk with power, we strive to put them in their rightful places.
I wish the Oyo state NURTW well in their pursuit of justice against unrepentant contemnors.
Sola Abegunde.
