Please, edakun, Judges and Magistrates, are they also lawyers?
I am no longer trying to wrap my head around this Dino Melaye’s saga because it doesn’t really concern me. But, the more you try to distance yourself from this Nigeria, the more it brings it’s troublesome body closer to you.
When I first heard the news that a doctor taking care of Dino was arrested, I still said to myself, wetin kosine me? I heard that his brother was arrested. I still did not give a damn. Then when I heard that two lawyers Amaefula David, Pius Udo-Inyang were arrested, mbok, first thing I asked was, haba maka why?
Then I read that they were charged with criminal conspiracy, obstruction of public servant from performing his lawful duties, abatement and assault on police officers, offences said to be contrary to sections 97, 85, 267 and 173 of the Penal Code Law. The First Information Report (FIR) linked them to the Tuesday’s incident at Area One, Roundabout, Abuja, where Melaye reportedly jumped off a police vehicle that was said to be conveying him to Lokoja (Kogi State) where he was to be arraigned before a court on a pending charge. I still did not worry. I felt, well “one of those things you see in Nigeria alone.” Because even if either of them did as little as look scornfully at any of those officers lurking around the hospital, they would be arrested for “Scornfully looking at an officer on duty” and may be charged to court for that reason. Hey, it’s Nigeria!
All the above, were still comprehensible for a mind so violated and so harassed by Nigeria. But I now heard the duo were taken with Dino Malaye’s brother to a magistrate court in Mpape area of Abuja after passing the night with SARS.
Wait for it. The Magistrate took their plea which was “a not guilty plea” and then heard an oral application for bail on Thursday, 26th of April, 2018 and then adjourned ruling on their bail application till Monday, 30th of April, 2018 and consequently ordered the trio to be remanded pending the next adjournment. Like hello!!!
Please someone help me understand what happened? Me I said to myself, it is not my mouth that will put me in trouble. It is not also my mouth that would see evil and keep quiet. Mbanu! I have to ask this question, the Magistrate that adjourned an oral bail application for the release of two lawyers doing their legit lawyer work of trying to bail their client for almost one week, please and please did she ever practice as a lawyer? Kai mana, assuming without conceding that every other odd of the law were against the immediate ruling on that bail application, what happened to professional solidarity?
N.B: Years ago when I was doing my court attachment, in one of the sessions we had with the judge, one of us asked him, “My Lord, what if all these Senior Advocates raise something you do not know or have an answer to? How will you handle it so as not to seem like you do not know?” After giving us a sound response, the judge said comically, “Just stand down the matter and seek clarification from the books or your learned brothers”!
I said everything up there except the one in highlight biko, people should not disturb me, I am not feeling fine!
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