Court declares sack of Edo Council boss illegal

An Edo State High Court in Benin City on Friday declared as illegal, the removal from office of Mr Patrick Aguinede as Chairman of Esan West Local Government.

The court presided over by Justice Daniel Iyobosa Okungbowa held that due process was not followed in the removal of the Claimant, Mr Patrick Aguinede as the Chairman Esan West Local Government while the action was not in conformity with the Edo state local government laws 2000 as amended.
Okungbowa granted all the reliefs sought by the claimant Patrick Aguinede including that his tenure as chairman Esan West local government still subsists and would elapse on 5th March 2021.

The court declared the sack of the claimant by the first defendant and Edo State Governor Mr Godwin Obaseki and fourth defendant the Commissioner for local government and community Affairs as null and void.

It held that allegations of under remittance of internally generated revenue in Esan West local government area upon which the claimant was suspended and subsequently removed from office is not in conformity with the state local government law 2000 as amended while remittance of IGR is not a valid ground.

The court held that the removal of  Aguinede by the first and fourth defendants is null and void and in breach of the Constitution and awarded the sum of 200,000 naira in favour of the claimant against the defendants Gov. Godwin Obaseki and eight others.

Mr Patrick Aguinede approached the court to challenge his removal from office as Chairman of Esan West local government after a panel of enquiry set up by the state government sacked him from office.