All Nigeria Latest News reports that the Court of Appeal in Abuja has rejected the application from the Ondo State House of Assembly and its Speaker, seeking an expedited hearing of their appeal aimed at overturning the Federal High Court’s order that halted the planned impeachment of Deputy Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa.
Yesterday, a three-member panel of the appellate court ruled that the House of Assembly’s application for an expedited hearing of its appeal lacked merit.
The court maintained that the applicant did not present exceptional circumstances justifying the approval of such an application.
On October 20, the Assembly submitted an application to expedite the time for the respondents to file their briefs. Additionally, they filed a separate application to extend the time to compile and transmit the record of appeal.
During a hearing on November 3, Ebun-Olu Adegboruwa (SAN), the lawyer representing Aiyedatiwa, contested the application to extend the time to compile the record.
Adegboruwa contended that the court’s rules do not authorize the appellants to request an extension of time on behalf of the court’s registrar, whose responsibility is originally to compile the record. He further emphasized that the appellants should independently undertake the compilation of the record.
Following the objection by Aiyedatiwa’s lawyer, the Assembly withdrew the application.
Also on November 3, the appellant’s proceeded to argue their application to abridge time for the respondents to file their briefs of argument, an application Aiyedatiwa’s lawyer equally objected to.
Adegboruwa contended that the appellants’ decision to withdraw the earlier application to extend time to compile the record of appeal has the consequence of taking the appeal to the normal run of events under the Rules of the court.
He added that based on the development, there was no basis for seeking to abridge time, a position the appellate court upheld in its ruling yesterday.
The Ondo State Assembly and its Speaker filed an appeal on October 3 challenging the ex-parte orders issued by Justice Emeka Nwite of the Federal High Court, Abuja, on September 26. These orders restrained the Ondo State Governor, Chief Judge, House of Assembly, Speaker, and others from proceeding with the planned impeachment of Aiyedatiwa until the resolution of a pending motion on notice for interlocutory injunctions.