Impeached Enugu Deputy Gov Goes To Court

The impeached Dep­uty Governor of Enugu State, Mr. Sunday Onyebuchi, has instituted a legal action before an Enugu State High Court seeking a declaration that his removal from office by the state House of As­sembly is illegal, null and void.

Onyebuchi through his five-man team of lawyers, led by Femi Falana (SAN) in the Suit Number E/373/2014 filed on September 30, 2014, was asking the court to de­termine whether the state As­sembly could initiate removal or impeachment proceedings for his removal when he had not committed a gross mis­conduct in the performance of his functions as the state deputy governor.

Other lawyers appearing for him in the matter are Chief Ogochukwu Onyekwuluje, Chief Chris Aghanwa, Osina­chi Nwoye, and C. K. Ogbon­naya.

The Speaker of the state Assembly, Eugene Odoh, 23 lawmakers, the state House of Assembly, and the new Deputy Governor, Pastor If­eanyi Nwoye, were listed as defendants.

In the originating sum­mons, Onyebuchi contended that having regard to provi­sions of Section 188(2) and Section 188 (11) of the 1999 Constitution of the Federa­tion (as amended) and the momentous decision of the apex court of the land in Ina­koju and ORS vs Adeleke and ORS (2007) 4 NWLR ( Pt. 1025) 423, his purported impeachment was illegal, null and void.

Questions for determi­nation in the suit included, among others whether the state House of Assembly could initiate removal or impeachment proceedings against the former deputy governor for the purposes of removing him from office when he had not committed a gross misconduct in the per­formance of the functions of his office as deputy governor of Enugu State.

The reliefs sought by On­yebuchi included among others: “A declaration that Section 188 of the constitu­tion is not a weapon available to the Enugu State House of Assembly to subject or police the plaintiff for any wrong do­ing not committed in the per­formance of the functions of his office as deputy governor.

“A declaration that the Al­legations of gross misconduct as contained in the Notice of Allegations of Gross Miscon­duct July 22, 2014 and served on the plaintiff by the 1st to 24th defendants did not con­stitute gross misconduct as envisaged by the provisions of Section 188 of the constitu­tion to warrant the 1st to 24th defendants to invoke their powers under Section 188.

“A declaration that the 1st to 24th defendants violated their sacred legislative func­tions under the provisions of Section 188 when they embarked on the removal or impeachment of the deputy governor from office when there was no legal or con­stitutional basis for such an exercise.

“A declaration that the purported nomination and approval of the 25th defen­dant as the deputy governor of Enugu State are illegal and unconstitutional as they vio­late Section 191 of the 1999 constitution.”

 The Sun