Says remarks meant to incite National Judicial Council, NJC
The Civil Societies Coalition for the Emancipation of Osun State (CSCEO)
has faulted Chief (Mrs) Folake Solanke and Professor Itse Sagay over their
comments on the petition written by a serving Osun state judge, Justice Olamide
Oloyede against Governor Rauf Aregbesola.
The group described the statement by the two senior lawyers as a
predetermined mere opinion over an issue of national importance and was
made to save their Aregbesola in the face of the whole world over his
financial recklessness and mismanagement of Osun commonwealth.
CSCEO noted that the statement adduced to both Solanke and Sagay was not
only in bad taste by very unfortunate, anti-masses, ungodly, evil and
uncalled for.
Besides, the group in a statement jointly signed by its Chairman, Comrade
Adeniyi Sulaiman, the Deputy Secretary, Comrade Bukola Idowu and the
Director of Mobilisation, Rev. Theophilus Ayodeji accused the duo of
deliberate plan to incite the National Judicial Council (NJC) being part of
their efforts to satisfy Bola Tinubu and his god son, Aregbesola.
What is their locus standi in this matter? Are they the only lawyers in
Nigeria? The whole world knows that Prof. Sagay for years has been APC and
Aregbesola’s consultant on legal matters. How much did they collect for
this dirty job? Why is it that the statement was signed only by Professor
Sagay?
We will appreciate if Chief Solanke could come out to tell all of us that
her name was put in the statement to cover-up the obvious partisanship of
Professor Sagay. Mrs. Solanke needs to do this so as not to drag the
family’s hard earned name into the mud over frivolous press statement.
Are they saying that Mrs. Olamide’s privilege as a judge overrides her
right as a citizen of Nigeria as enshrined in the Constitution of Nigeria
particularly in a matter she was directly affected? First of all, Justice
Oloyede is a Nigerian and an Osun indigene before being a judge.
Paradoxically, the writer(s) of this statement were acting like judges
making judicial pronouncement on issues they had no *locus standi* except
for the fact that they were engaged by Aregbesola.
Now that they were using their privileges as SANs to constitute themselves
into a court of law, did the woman judge not deserve a fair hearing? Did
they suppose to close their eyes and looked on the other side before
pronouncing judgment on Justice Oloyede?
In our view, both Professor Sagay and Chief Solanke were supposed to be
defenders in the temple of law but are now queuing behind a politician who
had gagged the judiciary. Did they know that until few days ago it was
over a year that courts sat in Osun state? Why did they refuse to intervene
in the comatose state of administration of judiciary in the state?
They should find out how their learned colleagues have been eating and
sending their children to schools even when the governor never missed a
month without collecting his N500million security votes while his wife has
not failed in receiving on monthly basis N25 million as food allowances
from our state lean purse.
We recall here that this was the same governor that wanted to foist
Justice Olubunmi Oyewole, a No. 33 judge from Lagos judiciary on Osun
judiciary as the Chief Judge (CJ) on the premise that he wanted him to
become the Chief Justice of the Federation (CJN). Today, judges in Osun
state were denied their rights to be represented at the Appeal Court
because the same Justice Oyewole was nominated by Aregbesola as a judge
representing Osun state at the Court of Appeal.
Did they know that Aregbesola stifled courts in this state by holding back
their basic needs? Did Prof. Sagay and Chief Solanke ever ask any of the
judges in this state how they were faring? Maybe they need to know that
Osun courts are virtually empty with judges providing for themselves
writing materials because that arm of government was refused its funds by
Aregbesola who is ruling the state like an Emperor.
This is a state where within a year over 366 retirees have lost their
lives to avoidable deaths just because they cannot get money to treat
themselves. For over eight months, the pensioners were denied their meagre
allowances. Yet, the governor gets his security votes from the same
Consolidated Account where pension funds are kept.
Did they know that for three terms, pupils in both public primary and
secondary schools in this state did not write any examination because
Aregbesola cannot provide ordinary chalks to schools? Did they know that
pupils in this state wrote the last WAEC examinations without stepping into
classrooms for over five months?
“Will someone like Justice Oloyede keep quiet because those unfortunate
pupils were children of the poor? We are sure that if the educational
foundation of both Professor Sagay and Chief Solanke were like this, they
wouldn’t have reached the peak of their careers.
Like all true loving indigenes of Osun state, we are bold to stand with
courageous Justice Oloyede who has risen at this time as our Moremi to
speak on behalf of the poor and the downtrodden, the group stated.
CSCEO further stated that Sagay was one of those employed by Tinubu against
the late Renowned Social Crusader, Late Chief Gani Fawehinmi (SAN) during
Tinubu’s certificate saga while Mrs. Solanke was also one of the cabals in
the legal profession of the country that insisted that Late Chief Gani
Fawehinmi should not be awarded the prestigious Senior Advocate of Nigeria
(SAN) because of their total hatred to the radical minds like Gani in the
bar and Justice Oloyede in the bench
The group insisted that the judge has not erred in law as being postulated
by Solanke and Sagay, noting that what Justice Oloyede did in writing the
petition as authentic citizen of the State, was in line with Section 39
of the amended 1999 Constitution which superseded any existing laws of the
land.