Timeline: The travails of Osun Chief Judge, Adepele Ojo

The suspension-cum-removal of the Osun State Chief Judge, Adepele Ojo, has generated lots of reactions, from the state government to the state judiciary workers, the Nigerian Bar Association, and the state House of Assembly, among others.

In this piece, Ajisafe Olayiwola gives a comprehensive report on the timeline of events on the suspension of CJ Ojo, the subsequent appointment of Justice Olayinka Afolabi in the acting capacity, as well as the state government’s denial.

For the third day running, members of the Judiciary Staff Union of Nigeria, Osun State branch, on Wednesday, continued to stage protest at the premises of the State High Court while kicking against the alleged abuse of office and high-handedness by CJ Ojo.

The protest, which started on Monday, has led to the paralysis of court-related matters in the State High Court.

On Wednesday, police operatives fired teargas to disperse the protesters and those at the scene ran in different directions.

However, the Chairman, Osun JUSUN, Gbenga Eludire, citing the action of the police and the state CJ, ordered all judicial workers in the state to immediately withdraw their services till further notice.

The following is the timeline of the events that surrounded the suspension-cum-removal of Ojo and the appointment of Afolabi, amongst many others:

Lawyer accuses Adeleke of plotting Ojo’s removal

An Ibadan-based lawyer, Yomi Alliyu (SAN), who is a native of Ede, Osun State, raised concerns over alleged plans to force CJ Ojo into retirement.

Alliyu alleged that the state governor, Ademola Adeleke, had requested the retirement letter of the CJ from the State Head of Service.

The senior advocate also narrated how Ojo became aware of her planned retirement after the meeting between the HoS and the Secretary of the state Judicial Service Commission.

Alliyu condemned the act while citing a bill signed by President Bola Tinubu which increased the retirement age of the High Court and Supreme Court judges to 70.

At the time, Ojo was due for retirement in October 2023 when she will clock 65.

In a statement by the governor’s spokesperson, Olawale Rasheed, he dismissed Alliyu’s allegations, saying, “Members of the public need to be informed that there is no controversy on the processes of disengagement or otherwise even with respect to the old and new law on the retirement age for judges of superior courts. All insinuations in the hatchet’s job are false and figments of the imagination of the propagandist.”

Adeleke appoints acting CJ, court restrains gov

Adeleke appointed Justice Olayinka Afolabi as the acting Chief Judge of the state with immediate effect, following the approval of the resolution of the House of Assembly.

The governor had approved the resolution of the State House of Assembly that recommended Ojo’s suspension.

Adeleke, thereafter, directed his deputy, Kola Adewusi, to perform the swearing-in of Afolabi as the acting CJ on Friday, November 17, at the Executive Lounge, Governor’s Office, Osogbo, the state capital.

Earlier, Ojo had secured a restraining order from the National Industrial Court of Nigeria, sitting in Ibadan, Oyo State, barring Adeleke from removing her qs the substantial CJ of the state.

The court adjourned the matter till December 12, 2023, for hearing of the pending motion on notice.

Meanwhile, a coalition of Civil Society Organisations in Osun State had earlier accused Adeleke of plotting to remove Ojo as the state CJ.

Mr. Ayo Ologun, who spoke on behalf of the group, said the governor’s move was “particularly troubling as it appears to be a reprisal against the Chief Judge for her principled stand against attempts to manipulate the judiciary in the state.”

Swearing-in ceremony fails to hold

The swearing-in ceremony of Afolabi as the acting CJ failed to hold.

Sources close to the government, who preferred to remain anonymous, said Adewusi was in Abuja when announcements that suspended Ojo and appointed Afolabi were made.

It was later discovered that Adewusi was in the office before the close of work on Friday, but Afolabi was absent around the Executive Lounge of the Governor’s Office in Osogbo, the state capital.

It was also learnt that courts in the state did not sit in the outgoing week as the judges were said to be outside the state attending a conference, according to the state’s Commissioner for Information and Public Enlightenment, Kolapo Alimi,The Nigerian Bar Association condemned the actions of Adeleke and the state’s lawmakers in defiance of the court order restraining Ojo’s removal as the state’s Chief Judge.