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An
Oyo State High Court, on Wednesday, nullified the June 8 suspension of
eight members of the Oyo State House of Assembly, declaring it
unconstitutional and of no effect.

The presiding
judge, Morufu Ademola, submitted in his judgement that the suspended
members were sanctioned by the house without ‘fair hearing’, condemning
the speaker, Olawale Atilola, and 15 other members of the legislative
arm for violating section 36 of the Nigerian Constitution.

“The contravention
of section 36 of 1999 constitution by the Hon. Atilola and other
defendants not only breached the cost of natural justice of the
plaintiffs, but their civil rights,” the judge declared, while
stressing the responsibility of the court of law to always frown at any
appearance of the breach of fundamental human right it is established
to protect.

“There was no
evidence before the court that the Speaker and the other 15 lawmakers
issued queries to any of the plaintiffs, challenging them of wrong
doing, coupled with the fact that the plaintiffs were not there when
the defendants found them guilty of the said allegations, which
eventually led to their suspension,” he noted further.

Mr. Ademola said
the complainants have proven their cases of violation of human rights,
beyond ordering their immediate reinstatement to the house and their
offices.

One of the
reinstated lawmakers, Ademola Adejumobi, who was also the majority
leader before the suspension, commended the effort of the judiciary for
striving to sustain the nation’s nascent democracy. According to him,
the judgement would afford them to resume at the house today (Thursday)
for their legislative business.

Following the
attempt to move for the impeachment of the speaker on June 8,
pro-speaker members of the state legislature threw decorum to the wind
as thugs, believed to be members of the National Union of Road
Transport Workers (NURTW), were engaged to beat their colleagues
mercilessly for the move.

Two of them sustained injuries in the process and were later admitted at the University College Hospital (UCH) for attention.

Advancement of democracy

The speaker was
alleged to have used his office to prevent the house from investigating
the allegations of misappropriation of funds leveled against the state
governor, Adebayo Alao-Akala.

The other members of the house later sat same day to suspend the anti-speaker lawmakers for three months.

Meanwhile, Lekan
Balogun, a leader of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the state,
has described the judgement as victory for the rule of law.

Mr. Balogun, an
Ibadan high chief, in a statement sent to journalists in Ibadan
yesterday, said the judgement represents advancement of democracy in
the state and Nigeria, in general.

“We, in the Oyo PDP
opposition, commend the perseverance and tolerance of these G9
legislators. We congratulate them over this victory and we also commend
the boldness and courage of the judiciary in giving this ruling, in
spite of the odds against it,” the statement reads in part.

He urged the reinstated lawmakers to quickly reconcile with their
colleagues in the House to ensure peace and good governance for the
people of the state and the country.