Posted by By Abimbola Akosile and Chika Amanze-Nwachukwu on
Following an impeachment, removal, and arrest of embattled Governor Rasheed Ladoja by members of the Oyo State House of Assembly yesterday, notable lawyers in the country have condemned the move, describing it as a constitutional absurdity, which has set a dire precedent for governance in Nigeria.
Following an impeachment, removal, and arrest of embattled Governor Rasheed Ladoja by members of the Oyo State House of Assembly yesterday, notable lawyers in the country have condemned the move, describing it as a constitutional absurdity, which has set a dire precedent for governance in Nigeria.
Chief Gani Fawehinmi, in a telephone interview with THISDAY, said the impeachment of Ladoja was rather unfortunate, in that the ex-governor should have stood his ground and prepared a good defence for himself against the charge instead of allegedly running about begging the President Obasanjo and his men for pardon.
"The whole situation is very unfortunate. The impeachment panel did not put Ladoja in defence to the charges before it concluded its sitting. The panel should have done that in December (2005) when the charges were first leveled against the governor.
The charges were very grave, especially the one concerning Ladoja's alleged deposit of N1.9billion of the State's money in a personal account with STB (Count 2). The charges also relate to corruption".
"I am not happy with Section 188 of the Constitution, which ousts the power of the court to look into any impeachment process against governors. That section should either be removed or amended to allow the court intervene in the process. Jurisdiction of the court should not be taken away".
"It is rather unfortunate and very un-manly of Ladoja, that instead of facing the charges squarely, he went about begging President Obasanjo. I learnt he even rode in the same vehicle with him. That is very unmanly of him".
"Obasanjo should carry the same anti-corruption drive to Aso-Rock, to convince Nigerians of his sincerity. If this removal, which is the second one after Governor Alamieyeseigha of Bayelsa is prompted by the 3rd term agenda, then it portends a serious omen for the sustenance of our democracy. But if Ladoja's removal was based on altruistic motive, that is anti-corruption, then he made a mistake of not putting in his defence".
"My sympathy for Ladoja is diminished by the serious allegation of corruption against him, and by his begging Obasanjo. Up till yesterday (Sunday), he was still begging, that is very unmanly of him. He should have stood his ground", Gani said.
In his reaction, Chief Wole Olanipekun, SAN, former President of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) yesterday insisted that due process should have been followed in the matter. "Yesterday it was Alamieyeseigha, today it is Ladoja, tomorrow it might be someone else. We are not following due process. I warned against this before. A governor in Nigeria can just be removed at any time. Nobody respects our Constitution any longer".
"Injustice is a threat to justice in this country. Nigeria is only a Federal Republic in name, while only the President has all the powers to appoint and remove anyone at will".
"I am not saying Ladoja is not facing impeachable offences, but let due process be followed. That has been my stand from the beginning and that will always be my stand. The other governors should not weep for Ladoja. Instead they should weep for themselves. No one knows who will be next. Also Nigerians should not weep for Ladoja, but themselves and for this nation. We no longer respect the Constitution", Olanipekun lamented.
Human rights lawyer, Festus Keyamo, on his own part, described the trial and impeachment as an absurdity. "This trial is another level of Constitutional absurdity. It is crude, undemocratic, and very unconstitutional. We are not talking of fair hearing or procedure here".
To him, "the Constitution is clear on the issue of the endorsement of two-thirds of all the members of the House of Assembly before any impeachment can go through. This impeachment is an absurdity".