The Ondo State High Court on Tuesday has fined the deputy governor of the state, Lucky Aiyedatiwa, N200,000 for wasting the time of the court.
Mr Aiyedatiwa is fighting a move by the state House of Assembly to remove him from office for alleged gross misconduct.
The move is connected to a rift between the deputy governor and associates of Governor Rotimi Akeredolu.
The court imposed the fine after Mr Aiyedatiwa’s lawyers failed to appear in court to argue a motion he filed seeking to restrain the Chief Judge and the state House of Assembly on the move to remove him from office.
Mr Aiyedatiwa is seeking the restraining order pending the determination of his appeal against a judgement of the court on 10th October dismissing his case on the substantive matter.
But on Tuesday, the court directed the deputy governor to pay N50,000 cost each to the Speaker of the State House of Assembly, the House of Assembly, the Clerk to the House, and the Chief Judge who were the third to sixth respondents respectively in the motion.
The judge had earlier dismissed the substantive suit filed by the deputy governor, saying it constituted an abuse of judicial process, because he filed a similar suit at the Federal High Court, Abuja.
Following the dismissal of the case, Mr Aiyedatiwa filed a Notice of Appeal together with an application urging the court to restrain the House of Assembly and the Chief Judge from proceeding with his impeachment, pending the hearing and determination of his appeal.
However, when the case was called on Tuesday, the counsel to the plaintiff was absent.
The counsel to the State House of Assembly, A. S Subair of Femi Emmanuel Emodamori & Co, informed the court that the motion for injunction had been adjourned to Tuesday and wondered why the counsel to Mr Aiyedatiwa was absent.
While reluctantly adjourning the hearing of the motion till 7 November, the judge awarded the N200,000 cost against Mr Aiyedatiwa for wasting the time of the court and the other parties.
