Man accused of stealing, jumps to his death in court

A man, accused of stealing jumped to his death at the Ogba Magistrates Courts, Lagos State.

The accused was said to have jumped to his death from the third floor balcony of the court.

The victim, who was accused of stealing, was set for trial at Court 20, before he jumped from the balcony of the third floor.

According to eye witnesses, the victim, who appeared to be in his thirties, seemed to be angry with Prison Officials that brought him to court.

One of the eye witnesses said: “His family members were already discussing with the complainant, on how to settle the matter out of court and when the man suddenly jumped.”

One of the lawyers at the court, Barrister Ikechi, said that the accused was still on bail before he was rearrested for another crime of stealing. It was because of this second stealing that they brought him to court.

All efforts made to find out the identity of the victim was abortive as the Court 20 Magistrate and Prosecutor disappeared. 

Another lawyer, Barrister B. A Momodu, said that he suspected the accused acted out of frustration of prison officials’ treatment.

He added that the condition of the prisons in the country was bad. He further said that the manner suspects were being subjected to hardship by the officials of prison services was bad.

Momodu added: “The suspects are still presumed innocent, until the court pronounced them guilty. Therefore, they should be treated with respect. They are treated like animals in Nigerian Prisons. The prison supposed to be a correctional center for the people, not an oppressed ground as its being seen in the Nigeria prisons.”

The Chief Magistrate of the Ogba Magistrates’ Court, refused to speak on the development. He wouldn’t allow our correspondent to enter his office.

Our correspondent met some officials of the   Lagos State Emergency Management Agency (LASEMA), who came to collect the corpse. They also declined to comment on the matter.  

The Public Relations Officer (PRO) of LASEMA, Mr. Adedayo Kehinde, was contacted. He said that he was not in a position to speak about the matter. He, however, admitted that he had been briefed about the matter.

When our correspondent contacted the spokesman of the Nigerian Prisons Services, Mr. Francis Enobore, he said that he couldn’t speak on the incident until he was through with his ongoing meeting.