The Lagos High Court in Ikeja on Wednesday ordered the State House of Assembly to halt probe of former Governor Akinwunmi Ambode pending the determination of the case before it.
Mr Ambode dragged the assembly to court over the probe of his administration’s procurement of 820 buses worth N7 billion for public transport.
Justice Y.A. Adesanya had on Tuesday ordered the assembly’s speaker, Mudashiru Obasa, to appear before it alongside other respondents following a motion ex-parte filed by Ambode’s lawyer, Tayo Oyetibo.
The other respondents are House Clerk, A.A Sanni; chairman of the ad hoc committee set up by the assembly to probe the procurement, Fatai Mojeed, and members of the committee.
The members are Gbolahan Yishawu, A.A Yusuff, Yinka Ogundimu, Mojisola Meranda, M.L Makinde, Kehinde Joseph, T.A Adewale, and O.S Afinni.
Lead counsel to the respondents, Adenike Oshinowo, requested for time to respond to the application, saying it was received late Tuesday.
The judge adjourned till November 20, 2019, for the respondents in the matter to respond to the plaintiff’s application.
Justice Adesanya also ordered the parties to maintain the status quo pending the outcome of the case.
Ambode, according to his statement of claim before the court, said that contrary to deliberate misrepresentation of facts by the lawmakers, the procurement of the 820 buses was included in the 2018 Appropriation Law which was approved by the assembly.
The former governor added that in continuation of deliberate misrepresentation of facts of the issue, the assembly falsely claimed that an invitation had been extended to him to appear before the committee but that he failed to honour the said invitation.
He said it was obvious that the lawmakers were totally biased against him having regard to their pronouncements on the floor of the house by reason of which he believes that his right to fair hearing as guaranteed by the Constitution had been seriously compromised by the defendants.
Among other things, Ambode wants the court to declare the setting up of a 9-man committee to investigate all transactions in respect of the 820 buses as unconstitutional, null and void.
