The Lagos High Court in Ikeja on Wednesday declared the removal of the reinstated Speaker of the State House of Assembly, Mudashiru Obasa, as illegal and unconstitutional.
However, SaharaReporters has learned that the ruling was influenced by a political arrangement by the Bola Tinubu presidency, which involves securing a high-profile judicial appointment for the presiding judge, Justice Yetunde Pinheiro.
Earlier on Wednesday, SaharaReporters reported that Justice Pinheiro voided the plenary session, which led to Obasa’s impeachment, effectively reinstating him as the legitimate Speaker of the House.
But according to high-level sources, the ruling was part of a deal to reward Justice Pinheiro with an appointment to the Court of Appeal.
Sources told SaharaReporters that the arrangement was discussed during a meeting at the Presidential Villa in Abuja on Tuesday, February 25, between the Presidency and Justice Pinheiro’s husband, Kemi Pinheiro, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria.
When contacted by SaharaReporters, Mr. Pinheiro denied the allegation.
In her judgment, Justice Pinheiro upheld Obasa’s position, affirming him as the only legally recognised Speaker of the Lagos State House of Assembly.
The decision follows recent reports by SaharaReporters indicating that Obasa was pressing forward with his legal challenge against former Speaker Mojisola Meranda and several other lawmakers despite earlier intervention by President Tinubu to intervene.
Tinubu had intervened in the leadership crisis rocking the Lagos State House of Assembly by calling for a meeting with the Lagos lawmakers in Abuja. At the meeting, he brokered a resolution that required Mojisola Meranda—elected Speaker by the lawmakers after Mudashiru Obasa’s impeachment in January—to step down, while Obasa was expected to withdraw his legal challenge.
Although Meranda promptly complied and resigned as Speaker despite enjoying the support of the majority in the Assembly, Obasa refused to back down or withdraw his suit.
Sources exclusively told SaharaReporters that Tinubu instructed Obasa not to withdraw the case, assuring him that the presiding judge had already been “taken care of.”
“When the Lagos Assembly members met with Tinubu in Abuja, he told them Obasa would drop the case,” a source familiar with the matter told SaharaReporters. “But once they left, he told Obasa not to withdraw the suit. He assured Obasa that the judge was being handled through her husband, Kemi Pinheiro (SAN), and that she would be rewarded with a Court of Appeal appointment.”
According to insiders, Kemi Pinheiro was summoned to Abuja in February for a private meeting with President Tinubu concerning the Obasa case. Sources privy to discussions at the meeting claim Pinheiro pledged to persuade his wife, Justice Yetunde Pinheiro, to deliver a favourable judgment for Obasa.
Obasa, impeached by the majority of the lawmakers on January 13, 2025, filed a lawsuit at the Lagos State High Court in Ikeja in early February, challenging the legitimacy of his removal and naming Meranda and the Assembly as respondents.
His impeachment stemmed from allegations of gross misconduct and abuse of office. While he was away in the United States at the time of his removal, the Assembly elected Deputy Speaker Mojisola Meranda as his replacement.
Sources further revealed that Tinubu’s administration actively ensured a favourable court ruling.
“Kemi Pinheiro (SAN) was invited to Abuja to pressure his wife into ruling in Obasa’s favour and restoring him as Speaker,” one of the insiders said. “He met with President Tinubu and gave assurances that it would be done.”
When SaharaReporters contacted Kemi Pinheiro, he vehemently denied the allegation, dismissing it as “rubbish.” He further claimed ignorance of his wife’s involvement in the case.
According to a travel itinerary shared with SaharaReporters, Pinheiro confirmed he was in Abuja on February 25 but said it was for unrelated engagements.
“I appeared before the Federal High Court in Yahaya Bello’s case, attended a public hearing on Tax Reform Bills at the National Assembly, and then returned to Lagos immediately,” he said.
Following the lawmakers’ meeting with Tinubu in Abuja on March 12, Obasa’s legal team appeared increasingly confident about their case.
They insisted there was no plan to withdraw the suit and that they were fully prepared to argue their case in court, despite ongoing political efforts to resolve the Assembly crisis. (SaharaReporters)
