The Chief Registrar of the State High Court, Ishola Omisade has appeared before the House of Assembly Committee on Judiciary probing the allegations against the embattled Chief Judge.
The Chief Registrar was escorted to the Assembly by some magistrates on Tuesday, as the lawmakers commenced a probe into some of the allegations against the Chief Judge.
Also sighted at the Assembly were about 12 staff members of the high court working in the Affidavit Office and Salary Section.
This is as the protest against the Osun State Chief Judge, Justice Oyebola Adepele Ojo, by the members of the Judiciary Staff Union of Nigeria (JUSUN), in Osun State continued on Tuesday.
The leadership of JUSUN paralysed activities at the state High Court in Osogbo for the second day running as they prevented movement into the premises of the court.
Osun JUSUN Chairman, Gbenga Eludire, said the union will be meeting with some judges on Wednesday.
He expressed hope that some of the demands of the group would be discussed and met after the meeting.
“Our judges spoke to us today, they interacted with us and possibly tomorrow (Wednesday), we are going to have a meeting point, where our issues will be looked into and possibly attended to. It is our hope that tomorrow’s meeting will yield a positive result,” he said.
The Chief Press Secretary to the Speaker of the Osun Assembly, Tiamiyu Olamide, declined comment on the issue.
He, however, stated that, “Some people appeared and more will appear but I don’t know their designations and where they are from.
“The committee is working round the clock to complete the investigation within the period given to them by the House of Assembly.”
Meanwhile, members of the dissolved Osun State Judicial Service Commission also alleged that the state governor, Ademola Adeleke had sacked them to pave the way for the removal of the Chief Judge.
Jointly signing a statement on behalf of the group, Rotimi Makinde and Tomi Olagbaju, they described their removal before the expiration of their five-year tenure as an act of executive recklessness.
“When the state government could not find the CJ pliable to execute their devious plan and consequently could not find anything incriminating against the CJ, since all approvals from her office to our commission went through due process of law, the governor believed the best strategy to adopt is to disband us and bring in ductile characters, even when our tenure still remains four years.
“It is strange that a government which has become a butt of jokes and comedy in the comity of states over unending financial infraction, is the one devoting its energy to sack a Chief Judge over ridiculous and puerile N5m graft claim. Where does the government derive powers to investigate and punish a Chief Judge? Such powers reside in the National Judicial Council,” they stated.
The Osun State Commissioner for Information and Public Enlightenment, Kolapo Alimi, when contacted, asked the dissolved commission members to await the outcome of their court case since they had already approached the court.
“Since they have approached the court, they should wait for the outcome of the case,” he said.
Osun CJ impasse: Chief Registrar, magistrates appear before House of Assembly