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An Oyo State High
Court has fixed June 28 for adoption of addresses and replies to
addresses by lawyers to parties in a legal suit between Rashidi Ladoja,
former Oyo State governor, and a 5-man Judicial Commission of Enquiry
set up by the state government.

The judge, Waheed Olaifa gave the order on Wednesday after listening to arguments from lawyers in the suit.

The judge, at the
last session on the case, had ordered the counsel to prepare their
written addresses for submission on Wednesday, June 2.

But only Lasun
Sanusi (SAN), Mr Ladoja’s lead counsel was able to submit his own
address yesterday, while representative of Lateef Fagbemi (SAN)
chambers, who is advocating for the judicial commission and Governor
Alao-Akala, in the matter, could not complete his presentation.

The court also
directed Mr. Sanusi to file his reply to the defendants address within
72 hours and prepare for the adoption on the fixed date.

Mr Alao-Akala had
last year set up a judicial commission of enquiry to probe the last six
months of his predecessor but Mr Ladoja dragged the commission before
the court asking for an order to restrict it from sitting.

Mr. Sanusi explained that he was asking for a restraining order against the commission because its constitution was illegal.

The former governor joined the state governor and his attorney-general and commissioner for justice in the suit.

Mr Ladoja, in his
motion on notice, prayed the court to stop the panel from ‘probing or
investigating or trying any part of the tenure pending the
determination of the substantive motion’.

Singled for probe

He also asked the
court to restrict the panel members from ‘acting or further acting in
pursuance of their inauguration as Judicial Commission of Enquiry to
probe part of the tenure’ pending the time of determination of the
substantive motion.

Among his prayers,
was also that the governor and the state Attorney-General and
commissioner for justice be stopped from mobilizing the panel or
facilitating its sitting before the substantive motion is determined.

In the original
suit, the former governor prays the court to declare the inauguration
of a panel of enquiry to probe a potion of his tenure illegal.

According to him,
setting up of the panel of enquiry to probe a portion of his
administration is not only discriminatory and against the provisions of
the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria of 1999, but the
public property and fund (Investigation and Recovery) Panel law of Oyo
State Cap 138 of Oyo state 1996, upon which the commission was
inaugurated, was inconsistent with the 1999 constitution of the Federal
Republic of Nigeria.

He argued further
that singling him out for probe without Mr Alao-Akala, who was the
deputy-governor during the period under probe,

is illegal, and then asked the court to declare the setting up of the commission null and void.