By Wole Adedeji, Ilorin
Legal repr senttaives of the Embattled Kwara State Auditor-General, awyers to the Kwara State Auditor General, Mr Samuel Omoniyi Adeyeye, have written to the state governor, Mallam AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq, asking him to obey a court order to let the former function in office.
The Auditor General, Mr. Adeyeye had approached the National Industrial Court of Nigeria, NICN, sitting in Akure, the Ondo State capital, challenging his alleged unlawful removal from office in January this year.
Adeyeye had in a 36-paragraph statement of facts in his suit, No NICN/IL/01/2022, asked the court to among others, restrain the governor, who is the first respondent in the suit from removing him from office and declare his purported removal in consequence, null, void and of no effect.
He also filed request for an enrolment order, which fetched him an order of interim injunction, restraining the governor “from forcing him to hand over the duties of his office to any person whatsoever, pending the determination of a motion on notice” he filed at the NICN, Akure.
Armed with the order, Adeyeye was said to have thereafter gone to his office only to find another man; Mr. Taju Tiamiyu, sitting on his desk as an acting Auditor-General.
In the lawyers’ letter signed by his lead counsel; Joseph S. Bamigboye, SAN, the governor was urged to obey the order of interim injunction of March 2, 2022 restraining him from disallowing the Auditor-General from working until the determination of the motion on notice.
Bamigboye stressed that the notice had since it was duly served on the governor, not been complied with, saying, “Sir, yours is a government elected on the basis of legality, constitutionalism and integrity, as against brazenness, impunity and blatant acts of unconstitutionality.
“It is in this light that we call on your good office to allow the rule of law and legality by directing that the subsisting order of a court of competent jurisdiction be given effect, our client allowed unhindered access to his office and the lawful performance of his duties, pending the determination of his motion on notice.”
The lawyers added that Adeyeye told them that his salaries are not paid to him since February 2022; and that even with the case in court and an order served on the governor, an interview had been conducted to fill his office.
Bamigboye enthused, “The worst act is that inspite of this suit and subsistence of the order of interim injunction, our client informed us that an interview to fill his office has been conducted. This constitutes a flagrant act of impunity. We want to believe that the interview will, on your Excellency’s order, be rendered null.”
Speaking with CompassNG in Ilorin, Bamigboye said that the letter had since Friday morning been delivered to the governor at the Government House, Ilorin.
He disclosed that further hearing on the suit had been adjourned to May 27, 2022, at the National Industrial Court, Akure.
