Delay defeats equity, court dismisses Wale Adedayo application to stop probe

An Ogun High Court sitting in Ijebu Ode has dismissed an ex-parte application filed by the suspended Chairman of Ijebu East Local Government, Mr Wale Adedayo, asking the court to stop further investigations and actions by Councilors of the council probing him on allegations of financial mismanagement.

In its ruling on the ex-parte argued by Barrister O. T. Are, standing in for A.M. Kotoye SAN, on behalf of Mr Adedayo, the presiding judge, Justice A.A. Omoniyi dismissed the application in “its entirety.”

It would be recalled that Councilors of Ijebu East Legislative Council recently suspended the chairman in continuation of investigations on alleged financial malpractices and directed the vice chairman of the Council to take over pending the conclusion of its investigation.

Are informed the court of the motion ex-parte dated September 6, 2022, praying for an interim order restraining the Defendants, their agents, privies from further proceeding on the letter of invitation to the claimant asking him to appear before the Legislative Council on September 14, 2023, or in the alternative to order parties to maintain the status quo.

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In its ruling, the court noted that the application by the plaintiff was not timely since he had received a notice on 31st August 2023 of the said resolution but waited till September 11, 2023, before filing his application.

“Delay defeats equity,” the judge said.

The Claimant was ordered to put the Defendants on notice and come back for the hearing of the originating summons on September 22, 2023.