Mudashiru Obasa, Monday, returned as Speaker of the Lagos State House of Assembly following Mojisola Meranda’s resignation from the position.

Obasa who was earlier removed made the dramatic comeback that also saw Meranda return to her former position as Deputy Speaker.

This also follows resignations by other leaders of the House.

Meranda presides over last plenary as Speaker

Both Meranda and Obasa had stormed the Assembly complex this morning, as fears mounted over the likelyhood of a showdown and breakdown of law and order.

Minutes after a strategic meeting involving Obasa, Speaker Mojisola Lasbat Meranda, Lagos State Attorney General Lawal Mohammed Alade Pedro (SAN), APC Chairman Cornelius Ojelabi, and 38 lawmakers at the assembly garden, Meranda presided over the plenary session that ushered in a return to status quo.

Lagos Assembly crisis

The House has been in crisis following the removal of Mr Obasa and former Clerk of the House, Olalekan Onafeko, by 32 lawmakers on January 13, 2025, and elected Mrs Mojisola Meranda as the substantive speaker.

Multiple sources close to the Presidency and other principal actors in the crisis told Vanguard that overtures have been made to legislatures to soft-pedal and support the embattled former Speaker.

Vanguard was reliably informed that members of the Governance Advisory Council, GAC, were also asked to rein in the anti-Obasa lawmakers.

This followed the disbandment of the Bisi Akande committee over its findings on the matter.

Vanguard further learned that the committee was disbanded owing to the report it submitted after its visit that the odds were against Obasa.

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The President had set up a high-powered committee of the party led by Bisi Akande and members including Aremo Olusegun Osoba, and former APC National Vice Chairman, South-west, Pius Akinyelure and others to resolve the crisis.

It further gathered that after the disbandment of the Akande committee, members of GAC were asked to rein in their loyalists in the Assembly and executive to back Obasa.

The source said: “The Bisi Akande committee has been disbanded. The president has reached out to members of GAC who have loyalists or children in the Assembly to insist they work for Obasa’s return as Speaker.

“For those who do not have children in the Assembly but have other political loyalists in the State Executive Council, they have been mandated to ensure Obasa is returned.

Another source told Vanguard that if the strategies to rein in the anti-Obasa fail to scale through, the Presidency and party leaders are considering allowing the courts resolve the crisis.

Sources in the presidency said: “The President is insisting Obasa must return but the Assembly members are also throwing their weight behind Meranda. The two camps do not want to shift grounds. As it is, the court will decide who the Speaker is and you know how judicial process works, it will move from the High Court to Appeal Court and from there, to the Supreme Court; the court will decide.”

The embattled former Speaker had dragged Meranda, the Assembly and 36 lawmakers to court challenging his ‘unlawful’ removal.

Justice Yetunde Rukayat Pinheiro of the Lagos State High Court, Ikeja, last Friday, adjourned the hearing of all pending applications in the lawsuit filed by Obasa, to March 7.

The post Lagos Assembly: Miranda steps down, Obasa returns as Speaker appeared first on Vanguard News.

The Police Command in Lagos State has clarified that the man seen in a viral video being manhandled by police officers was arrested for alleged illegal possession of drugs, not for wearing dreadlocks.

The command’s spokesperson, CSP Benjamin Hundeyin, made this clarification in a post on his X handle, @BenHundeyin, on Monday.

In the video, which began trending on social media, a voice could be heard claiming that the man was apprehended and assaulted for having dreadlocks and looking like a fraudster. Responding to the video, Hundeyin dismissed the claim as false.

The narrative is false, misleading, and malicious,

The suspect was arrested at Bassey Street in the Egbeda area of Lagos State based on complaints from residents about the activities of young men abusing and selling drugs openly.

ALSO READ: Police arrest 2 suspects for murder of woman accused of witchcraft in Borno

The police responded and the young man was indeed caught with hard drugs.

Due to his resistance and struggle, minimal force was used to subdue him, the spokesperson added.

According to the image maker, the suspect alongside others arrested will be prosecuted accordingly.

Similarly, the Police Command in Lagos State has detained a suspect accused of stabbing an Uber driver and dispossessing him of his car.

Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO) in Lagos State, SP Benjamin Hundeyin

The command’s spokesperson, CSP Benjamin Hundeyin, confirmed the incident to newsmen on Monday in Lagos. Hundeyin said that the incident happened on Saturday at 7:34 pm, at Ile-Zik in the Agege area of the state.

EXPLORE: Police arrest 2 drug dealers for possessing 88 parcels of narcotics labelled ‘MTN’

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An Uber driver reported at Isokoko Division that the suspect boarded his Toyota Camry at Nitel by Old Abeokuta Motor Road, Agege, to Marriott Hotel, GRA, Ikeja.On getting to Ile-Zik along the way, the suspect brought out a sharp knife, stabbed him all over his body and stole his vehicle, he said.

Hundeyin said that based on the report, a team of policemen later trailed the vehicle to Oshodi where the suspect was intercepted.

He was immediately apprehended and the vehicle was recovered from him to the station, he stated.

The police spokesman said that the victim had been taken to the hospital for treatment. Hundeyin said that the investigation into the case was ongoing.

Recently, the Police Command in Lagos State has detained a 23-year-old man for prosecution for allegedly beating his girlfriend to death. The command’s spokesperson, CSP Benjamin Hundeyin, confirmed the incident to newsmen on Monday in Lagos.

He said the suspect committed the offence on Friday at about 8:00 pm at Ijedodo, Isheri-Osun area of the state.

FURTHER READING: Police uncover fake drugs factory, arrest 4 in Lagos

Benjamin Hundeyin has joined the Lamborghini conversation. In the past week, there have been talks about Lamborghini after BBNaija star Mercy “Lambo” Eke bought herself a Lamborghini and socialite Sophia Egbueje also claimed she bought herself one after accusing Burna Boy of failing to buy one for her as promised. Lagos State Police Force PRO, Benjamin Hundeyin took to X amid the drama to ask where people are seeing the money to buy the luxury car. He wrote: “I wan buy Lamborghini. Abeg where una dey see this money?” His colleague, SP Josephine Adeh joked that she could buy one for him. The post “Where are you all seeing this money?” Benjamin Hundeyin asks as he says he wants to buy Lamborghini appeared first on Linda Ikeji Blog.