Appeal court adjourns Oni’s application indefinitely

The Court of Appeal in Ado-Ekiti on Tuesday adjourned indefinitely, the appeal filed by ousted Ekiti State Governor Segun Oni, seeking a redress over his removal from office. The appellate court also said the report of the five-man panel set up by the National Judicial Council to investigate the allegation of misconduct levelled against the President of the Court of Appeal, Justice Isa Salami, who headed the panel which sacked Oni from office was important to the case. Oni is asking the appellate court to reverse his removal by the Court of Appeal in Ilorin on the grounds that the court did not give him fair hearing. He further claimed that Justice Salami, who headed the appeal panel by Governor Kayode Fayemi ought not to have heard the case on the grounds of his alleged closeness to the Action Congress of Nigeria’s leadership which was a party in the case. But the presiding Justice Raphael Agbo in his ruling, adjourned the case indefinitely pending the outcome of the investigation of the NJC panel. Other justices in the panel were Justices Stanley Alagoa, Nwale Ngwuta, Tijani Abdulai and Uwani Abba-Aji. Lead lawyer to the appellant, Chief Ladi Williams (SAN) had urged the court to allow him move a motion for the setting aside of the October 15, 2010 judgment which removed Oni and prayed for the reconstitution of a new panel to hear the matter afresh. But Chief Anthony Adeniyi, who represented the respondents, told the court that his clients had filed preliminary objections and counter-affidavit. He said he prepared to go on with the case. Fayemi had last week in his objection against Oni’s appeal, asked the court to dismiss the case, saying that the court lacked jurisdiction to hear the appeal. The governor, who described Oni as a bad loser, said the Court of Appeal in Ado-Ekiti did not have jurisdiction to hear the case as it has been determined by Court of Appeal in Ilorin. By Femi Makinde, Ado-Ekiti Courtesy Of: Punch