It was another victory for the Speaker of the Lagos State House of Assembly, Rt Honourable Mudashiru Obasa, as a Lagos State High Court declared his removal illegal and unconstitutional on Wednesday.

In a judgement by the trial judge, Justice Yetunde Pinheiro, the court held that the proceeding that led to the resolution of Honourable Obasa’s removal as the speaker of the House on January 13, 2025, did not conform to the law.

The trial judge also ordered N500,000 to be paid to the Lagos lawmakers’ Speaker for his unlawful removal and the psychological distress he suffered during his removal as House Speaker.

On January 13, 2025, Honourable Mudashiru Obasa, while he was out of the country, was removed as the speaker of the house by his colleagues in the Lagos State House of Assembly over the allegation of gross misconduct, financial mismanagement, and abuse of office and was replaced with the deputy speaker, Mrs Mojisola Meranda, who sat on the seat as the first female to hold that office after seven men since 1979.

Upon his return to the country, Honourable Obasa faulted the process of his removal and debunked the allegations levelled against him with the argument that he has been consistent with following the law as a speaker. He further insisted that his status as the speaker of the House did not change, stating that the removal did not follow a proper procedure; therefore, he would not concede to the impeachment.

To get justice, Hon. Obasa took his case to the Lagos State High Court to challenge his removal as the speaker of the State House of Assembly, in which he named the Assembly and Mojisola Merand as the defendants, stating that they were mistaken to remove him since he was not present during the proceeding because the Assembly was on recess.

In the motion dated February 12, 2025, filed by his lawyer, Chief Afolabi Fashanu (SAN), Hon. Obasa asked the court to interpret Sections 36, 90, 92(2)(c), 101, and 311 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended) vis-à-vis Order V, Rule 18(2), and Order II, Rule 9(1)(ii)(iii)(iv)(v)(vi)(vii)(viii) of the Rules and Standing Order of the Lagos State House of Assembly.

In the motion, Hon. Obasa raised an observation stating his removal “challenges the constitutionality of the sitting and proceedings of the Lagos State House of Assembly to sit during recess without the Speaker reconvening the House or giving any other person powers to reconvene the House. Public interest requires the case to be heard and determined speedily and expeditiously so that legislative activities in the state are not stalled.

“The legality of the continued sitting of the 1st defendant under the present leadership in violation of the aforementioned laws and rules calls for an urgent determination.

“This Honourable Court is imbued with inherent powers to grant accelerated hearing and abridgement of time.”

While the case remained in court, the power struggle in the Lagos State House Assembly persisted, with both parties vying for the chamber’s seat. This led the leaders of the All Progressives Congress in the state and southwest, such as Chief Cornelius Ojelabi, the State Chairman of the APC, Chief Bisi Akande, the former Governor of Osun State, and Aremo Olusegun Osoba, the former Governor of Ogun State, to mediate in the dispute.

Bigwigs in the party intervened, resulting in Hon. Obasa’s re-election as the speaker of the House, while Hon. Mojisola Meranda resigned from her previous position, restoring the status quo.

While there were expectations that Hon. Obasa would withdraw the motion he had filed before the High Court as a result of his reinstatement as the Speaker of the Lagos House of Assembly, he insisted that he refused to withdraw the case.