Justice M. O. Adegbola of an Ibadan High Court sitting at Court 4 Ring-road has ordered the service of the court process through substituted means be served on some of the defendants in the case instituted by the former Governor of Oyo state, Chief Rasidi Adewolu Ladoja against Olubadan of Ibadan and the 11 newly coronated Obas.
The claimant lawyer, Barrister M. O. Folorunso who told the court when case came up for hearing Barrister Folorunso told the court that all attempt to serve the defendants in respective home addresses failed as the defendants were not available to receive the court service.
Reacting, the trial judge order that the substituted service be employed through pasting the orginating process in the palace of Olubadan of Ibadan land at Alarere area, Ibadan.
Also, Justice Adegbola further ordered the return of the case file back to the Chief Justice for reassignment declaring: I am close to the parties in the case. Said he: “my closeness to the claimant; second and fourth defendants would impugn on my credibility and that of the judiciary”, adding “the best in the circumstance is to step down in handing of the matter”.
He stated specifically that the court should be aware of his closeness to the claimant, Senator Rasidi A. Ladoja, 2nd and 4th defendants. And in the interest of justice, “I have no option than to ask another judge to adjudicate on the matter”, he added.
The above story is discussing a legal case in Ibadan, Nigeria, involving the former Governor of Oyo state, Chief Rasidi Adewolu Ladoja, and the Olubadan of Ibadan and 11 newly coronated Obas (traditional rulers).
The court process, which includes the legal documents related to the case, needs to be served to the defendants properly. However, previous attempts to serve the defendants at their home addresses have failed as they were not available to receive the court documents.
In response to this, the trial judge, Justice M. O. Adegbola, has ordered that the court process be served through substituted means. This means that instead of personally serving the defendants, the court will employ alternative methods. In this case, the court will paste the documents at the palace of the Olubadan of Ibadan in the Alarere area of Ibadan.
Additionally, Justice Adegbola has decided to step down from handling the case due to his close relationship with the claimant (Ladoja) and the 2nd and 4th defendants. He believes that this closeness could affect his credibility and that of the judiciary. As a result, he has asked that another judge be assigned to the case, and the case file will be returned to the Chief Justice for reassignment.
Overall, the text is describing the court’s decision to use substituted service to deliver the court process to the defendants and the trial judge’s decision to step down from the case due to his personal connections with some of the parties involved.
