“E s’aanu wa l’oni o. E e ni s’ise se o (Have mercy on us
today. Your work won’t lead you into calamity),” some pleaded earnestly,
peeping out of their cells while those who were allowed free movement looked
earnestly on.
Indeed, the atmosphere was initially so animated that beside the fact of their incarceration, one could easily have assumed these prisoners were actually enjoying their stay in the facility.
“We are here today to decongest the prison, as is our usual practice. Today we want to make it very snappy. We are not going to deal with any armed robbery cases or cases that carry capital punishment. We are going to take the simple offences only.”
With that declaration, the Chief Judge of Oyo State, Justice Badejoko Adeniji, opened her treatment of cases at the Agodi Prisons, Ibadan, Oyo State, on Friday when she paid a visit to the facility.
As she called for the case files of the numerous inmates that were ushered into her presence, she also threatened to get tough on rules of decorum and orderliness. Indeed, at a point during the proceedings, she seized a mobile handset of one of the officials on the high table, probably a staff member of the Directorate of Public Prosecution.
She bared her fangs also at the prison warders who were slow in producing an inmate, one Jimoh Jelili. Justice Adeniji strictly warned them not to “play games with me,” and as if to justify her action, she turned to the audience (comprising reporters, magistrates, lawyers and staff of the DPP) and explained that the warders could surreptitiously and illegally release some prisoners and later claim that they were released by her.
Her team’s entry into the yard was heralded by spontaneous pleas for mercy from every direction.
When Justice Adeniji settled down to treat the cases, it emerged that many of the inmates had been kept in incarceration because of one disconnect or the other between the police and the DPP. In some cases too, either the complainants have not been coming to court to follow up the case or the witnesses have not been forthcoming.
In such cases, the CJ told the magistrates in charge to ensure that such cases are struck out accordingly for lack of diligent prosecution and not just unnecessarily congest the prison with the accused.
In one particular case involving one Michael Oweh, who was charged at Court 7 with burglary and stealing, the magistrate said he was not aware of the case. Even the police who brought him to prison said the case was not on their list, and could not name any complainant! Oweh had been remanded in prison for months.
He was brought to the prison from Apata, with plaster on his forehead, for machete wound inflicted on him by members of the local vigilance. Justice Adeniji immediately set him free.
Another similar case involved Ojo Akinjide, who, together with two others now on bail, was charged at the Ona Ara Magistrates’ Court with conspiracy and attempt to commit murder. He told Justice Adeniji that they were motorists merely quarrelling over passengers.
Again, the DPP claimed that the case file had not been sent to them by the police, while the representative of the force could not offer any particular explanation, much to the chagrin of the chief judge.
The cases ranged from the very serious to outright ridiculous.
One Waliu Sherif had been in custody for stealing some quantity of Omo detergent, two pairs of children’s shoes and some nylon bags valued at N6000 from a kiosk at the Iyaganku area of Ibadan. Even the magistrate in charge of the case could not help laughing while reading the charge to Justice Adeniji.
The offence, on conviction, attracts seven years imprisonment. The items had been taken back from him, complainants have not been coming forth to follow up the case, but Sherif was still kept in custody. Mrs Adeniji immediately set him apart for release.
The case if Adewale Ayuba, Kabiru Bello and another accused already on bail was perhaps even more laughable. They were charged and remanded for stealing a purse containing N50. But the chief judge could not release them immediately, their case having been slated for definite hearing on January 4.
One other inmate that was released by Mrs. Adeniji was one Tunde Jimoh, who was charged at Magistrate Court 12 with burglary and stealing of a mobile handset.
It turned out that Jimoh, who must be in his mid-40s, found the handset on a roadside and tried to play the Good Samaritan by attempting to contact the owner. He was held in the process and eventually remanded.
Something in the way he narrated his ordeal must have touched a nerve in Justice Adeniji, who promptly ordered him released – especially since no complainants had been coming forth in court.
One other case that evoked pity and was met with the Chief Judge’s tenderness was that of a teenager, Henry Adeniyi, who was apparently arrested in error at the Iyana Church area of Akobo, Ibadan.
According to him, he was in town to collect school fees from his parents, and was arrested by policemen who were on the trail of some armed robbers. He had been in custody with no one coming forth to prosecute. He was set free by the chief judge, who herself confirmed that the area of the state capital was notorious for such criminal incidents.
An aged man, apparently in his 70s, Akibu Balogun, who was charged with obtaining money under false pretence, was, however, returned to prison custody.
Balogun, according to the charge sheet, sold the same piece of land to two different persons; but in his defence, the man said he gave the land to his son to build house, and that it was probably the son who sold the land to some other people.
Sina Tiamiyu made the gathering reel with laughter with his own testimony. Charged with child stealing, Tiamiyu denied the charge, but said he was under the influence of alcohol and Indian hemp when he was arrested for the offence.
Apparently no one had been coming forth for the prosecution of the case, the magistrate in charge told Justice Adeniji that the complainant had attempted to withdraw the case, but she declined because the said complainant was not the parent of the child in question. So Tiamiyu had been and still had to be returned to prison custody.
Friday Kelechi, Onyemachi Uche and Ganiyu Gafar’s case had had six adjournments so far. They were charged with criminal assault. But in their testimony, they said they were loaders, and that they quarrelled with someone who refused to pay for their service after work done.
They were also set free.
The testimony of Chinedu Nweke and Emeka Nzochi was an embarrassment for the police, as they told the CJ that police at the Testing Ground demanded N60,000 each from them.
They were charged with conspiracy and stealing N53,000 worth of tiles at the Ibadan North-East Magistrates’ Court.
According to them, despite supplying the police with accurate information as to how to get to the real culprits, police refused to go after them, but held the two and slammed them in prison.
They, too, were set free.
Abdulahi Aminu, who had spent five months and 15 days in custody for attempted child stealing, claimed he was erroneously held for attempted kidnapping because he sent a child on an errand. Witnesses have not been coming to court, so the chief judge set him free for lack of diligent prosecution.
Indeed, the atmosphere was initially so animated that beside the fact of their incarceration, one could easily have assumed these prisoners were actually enjoying their stay in the facility.
“We are here today to decongest the prison, as is our usual practice. Today we want to make it very snappy. We are not going to deal with any armed robbery cases or cases that carry capital punishment. We are going to take the simple offences only.”
With that declaration, the Chief Judge of Oyo State, Justice Badejoko Adeniji, opened her treatment of cases at the Agodi Prisons, Ibadan, Oyo State, on Friday when she paid a visit to the facility.
As she called for the case files of the numerous inmates that were ushered into her presence, she also threatened to get tough on rules of decorum and orderliness. Indeed, at a point during the proceedings, she seized a mobile handset of one of the officials on the high table, probably a staff member of the Directorate of Public Prosecution.
She bared her fangs also at the prison warders who were slow in producing an inmate, one Jimoh Jelili. Justice Adeniji strictly warned them not to “play games with me,” and as if to justify her action, she turned to the audience (comprising reporters, magistrates, lawyers and staff of the DPP) and explained that the warders could surreptitiously and illegally release some prisoners and later claim that they were released by her.
Her team’s entry into the yard was heralded by spontaneous pleas for mercy from every direction.
When Justice Adeniji settled down to treat the cases, it emerged that many of the inmates had been kept in incarceration because of one disconnect or the other between the police and the DPP. In some cases too, either the complainants have not been coming to court to follow up the case or the witnesses have not been forthcoming.
In such cases, the CJ told the magistrates in charge to ensure that such cases are struck out accordingly for lack of diligent prosecution and not just unnecessarily congest the prison with the accused.
In one particular case involving one Michael Oweh, who was charged at Court 7 with burglary and stealing, the magistrate said he was not aware of the case. Even the police who brought him to prison said the case was not on their list, and could not name any complainant! Oweh had been remanded in prison for months.
He was brought to the prison from Apata, with plaster on his forehead, for machete wound inflicted on him by members of the local vigilance. Justice Adeniji immediately set him free.
Another similar case involved Ojo Akinjide, who, together with two others now on bail, was charged at the Ona Ara Magistrates’ Court with conspiracy and attempt to commit murder. He told Justice Adeniji that they were motorists merely quarrelling over passengers.
Again, the DPP claimed that the case file had not been sent to them by the police, while the representative of the force could not offer any particular explanation, much to the chagrin of the chief judge.
The cases ranged from the very serious to outright ridiculous.
One Waliu Sherif had been in custody for stealing some quantity of Omo detergent, two pairs of children’s shoes and some nylon bags valued at N6000 from a kiosk at the Iyaganku area of Ibadan. Even the magistrate in charge of the case could not help laughing while reading the charge to Justice Adeniji.
The offence, on conviction, attracts seven years imprisonment. The items had been taken back from him, complainants have not been coming forth to follow up the case, but Sherif was still kept in custody. Mrs Adeniji immediately set him apart for release.
The case if Adewale Ayuba, Kabiru Bello and another accused already on bail was perhaps even more laughable. They were charged and remanded for stealing a purse containing N50. But the chief judge could not release them immediately, their case having been slated for definite hearing on January 4.
One other inmate that was released by Mrs. Adeniji was one Tunde Jimoh, who was charged at Magistrate Court 12 with burglary and stealing of a mobile handset.
It turned out that Jimoh, who must be in his mid-40s, found the handset on a roadside and tried to play the Good Samaritan by attempting to contact the owner. He was held in the process and eventually remanded.
Something in the way he narrated his ordeal must have touched a nerve in Justice Adeniji, who promptly ordered him released – especially since no complainants had been coming forth in court.
One other case that evoked pity and was met with the Chief Judge’s tenderness was that of a teenager, Henry Adeniyi, who was apparently arrested in error at the Iyana Church area of Akobo, Ibadan.
According to him, he was in town to collect school fees from his parents, and was arrested by policemen who were on the trail of some armed robbers. He had been in custody with no one coming forth to prosecute. He was set free by the chief judge, who herself confirmed that the area of the state capital was notorious for such criminal incidents.
An aged man, apparently in his 70s, Akibu Balogun, who was charged with obtaining money under false pretence, was, however, returned to prison custody.
Balogun, according to the charge sheet, sold the same piece of land to two different persons; but in his defence, the man said he gave the land to his son to build house, and that it was probably the son who sold the land to some other people.
Sina Tiamiyu made the gathering reel with laughter with his own testimony. Charged with child stealing, Tiamiyu denied the charge, but said he was under the influence of alcohol and Indian hemp when he was arrested for the offence.
Apparently no one had been coming forth for the prosecution of the case, the magistrate in charge told Justice Adeniji that the complainant had attempted to withdraw the case, but she declined because the said complainant was not the parent of the child in question. So Tiamiyu had been and still had to be returned to prison custody.
Friday Kelechi, Onyemachi Uche and Ganiyu Gafar’s case had had six adjournments so far. They were charged with criminal assault. But in their testimony, they said they were loaders, and that they quarrelled with someone who refused to pay for their service after work done.
They were also set free.
The testimony of Chinedu Nweke and Emeka Nzochi was an embarrassment for the police, as they told the CJ that police at the Testing Ground demanded N60,000 each from them.
They were charged with conspiracy and stealing N53,000 worth of tiles at the Ibadan North-East Magistrates’ Court.
According to them, despite supplying the police with accurate information as to how to get to the real culprits, police refused to go after them, but held the two and slammed them in prison.
They, too, were set free.
Abdulahi Aminu, who had spent five months and 15 days in custody for attempted child stealing, claimed he was erroneously held for attempted kidnapping because he sent a child on an errand. Witnesses have not been coming to court, so the chief judge set him free for lack of diligent prosecution.
Tribune
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