The National Industrial Court sitting in Ikoyi, Lagos, has reiterated its order for parties to maintain peace in the case of the suspended Clerk of the Lagos State House of Assembly, Olalekan Onafeko.
Justice Maureen Esowe restated the order upon an application made by counsel to the acting clerk, Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Olumide Oniyire, who asked the court to clarify the order of February 20, 2025, for the maintenance of the status quo ante bellum.
The judge also reiterated that the court did not reinstate the suspended clerk, Mr. Onafeko, as it did not have jurisdiction to undo what had been done by the State House of Assembly.
Justice Esowe asked all parties in the matter to reply to and promptly serve all necessary processes on pending applications before the court. She subsequently adjourned the case to April 2 to hear the applications at 12 noon.
Before the court’s order, the claimant, Mr. Onafeko, who was absent in court but represented by his counsel, Mr. Yusuf Nurudeen, asked the judge to grant his application seeking leave to fast-track adjudication of the matter.
There were no objections from the lawyers representing the 1st to 7th defendants, and the court granted the application as prayed.
The first to seventh defendants in the suit are the Lagos State Government, the State Civil Service Commission, the State House of Assembly, and the State House of Assembly Service Commission.
The others are the Speaker, the State Attorney General, and the acting Clerk, Mr. Taiwo Ottun.
Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Olumide Oniyire, representing the acting clerk, also told the judge that there were numerous applications pending before the court.
These include the application filed by the acting clerk seeking to reverse all the unlawful acts of the suspended clerk as a result of his forceful takeover of the office of the acting clerk on March 3, and an application for a change of counsel filed by Kehinde Adeyemi on behalf of the Speaker, the State House of Assembly, and the Assembly Service Commission.
The court found that these applications were not ripe for hearing, and in the interest of justice, Justice Esowe adjourned the case to April 2 to hear all the pending applications, by which time parties are expected to have replied to and exchanged all relevant documents.
