Court dissolves Ondo Local Council Executives 

An Akure High Court yesterday dissolved the 18 local government executives in Ondo State after weeks of protracted legal tussle restraining Governor Oluwarotimi Akeredolu (SAN) from dissolving them.

Meanwhile, there was a mild drama at an Akure High Court on Tuesday as former governor of Kaduna State, Alhaji Balarabe Musa, accused the Presiding Judge, Justice S.A. Sidiq of imposing a lawyer on the Peoples Redemption Party (PRP).

Musa, who is the PRP, witnessed a suit it filed against the exclusion of his party at the local government election conducted by the State Independent Electoral Commission (ODIEC) on April 16, 2016.

The PRP filed a suit at the high court alleging that the logo of the party was missing in the ballot papers used for the local government election in the state.

The suit, which was filed on behalf of PRP by its Counsel, Mr. Femi Aborisade, has ODIEC, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the state government as defendants was abandoned but later listed for hearing.

However, when the case came up for hearing, Musa was stunned when he learnt that Mr. Segun Ogodo who the party did not hire to represent it announced his appearance for the party.

The former Kaduna governor alongside the PRP State Chairman, Mr. Tunde Ali argued that they did not brief Ogodo to represent them and that the National Legal Adviser of the party, Aborisade was the lawyer.

Musa expressed dismay that a lawyer who was not retained by the party could go to the court without the knowledge of the litigants, filing an application for change of counsel and had been representing the party.

But Justice Sidiq insisted that since there was change of counsel and he has been representing the party, he should go ahead with his case.

This development degenerated to a sharp disagreement in the court premises as the council chairmen and councilors elected under the PDP accused the judge of predetermined judgment.

It took the intervention of security agents, led by an assistant commissioner of Police to calm frayed nerves at the court premises, while Justice Sidiq adjourned the case to March 31.

Aborisade stormed out of the court saying: “The Judge surprisingly deprived my client the constitutional right to be heard. My client filed the suit and the course of action has been removed with my client having being allowed to participate in the local government election.

“We have come to inform the court that we have withdrawn the matter. Unfortunately, the court is insisting that somebody else who was never briefed by my client is the counsel recognised by the court.”