Court summons Ogun Assembly over suit filed by ex-OPIC chief

Justice Peter Lifu of the Federal High Court in Lagos has summoned the Ogun State House of Assembly to show cause within seven days, why it should not be restrained from proceeding with the case by the former Managing Director of the Ogun State Property Investment Corporation (OPIC) Mr Jide Odusolu.

The judge made the order on Monday sequel to a motion moved by Odusolu’s counsel, Adetunji Adedoyin-Adeniyi.

Odusolu’s counsel argued on why the court should grant the interim reliefs contained in his client’s motion ex parte.

However, the court ordered the respondents in the suit to show cause upon being served with the order and the court processes, why they should not be restrained in line with the interim reliefs sought by the plaintiff.

The respondents in the suit are the Inspector-General of Police, Assistant Inspector-General of Police (AIG) in charge of Zone 2, Commissioner of Police in Ogun, the state House of Assembly, and the clerk of the Assembly.

On September 21, 2012, the Assembly had during its plenary purportedly adopted the report of its Committee on Anti-Corruption and Public Accounts which investigated the finances of OPIC and discovered huge sums of money allegedly missing from the agency’s accounts.

Read also: Ogun Assembly orders former OPIC MD to refund N40m

But Odusolu filed a suit before the court, seeking a declaration that the proceedings of the Assembly and the report of the committee which it purportedly adopted constituted an infringement on his fundamental right to a fair hearing.

He also sought a declaration that the Assembly lacked the competence to investigate the alleged crime and that the chairman of the committee was himself an interested party who served together with Odusolu in the previous administration and even inspected some OPIC projects, which he later claimed have not been executed.

Odusolu also asked the court to grant an order of injunction to restrain the Assembly from deploying the report to initiate any criminal complaint against him before the police and to restrain the police from acting on the said report, pending the hearing and final determination of the suit before it.

In a 40-paragraph affidavit deposed to by the plaintiff, he traced the series of projects executed by OPIC, adding that the accounts of OPIC have been audited by professionals and no fund was missing at all.

Justice Lifu adjourned the matter until November 1 for hearing.

Join the conversation

Opinions

Support Ripples Nigeria, hold up solutions journalism

Balanced, fearless journalism driven by data comes at huge financial costs.

As a media platform, we hold leadership accountable and will not trade the right to press freedom and free speech for a piece of cake.

If you like what we do, and are ready to uphold solutions journalism, kindly donate to the Ripples Nigeria cause.

Your support would help to ensure that citizens and institutions continue to have free access to credible and reliable information for societal development.

Donate Now