Court orders arrest, prosecution of lawyer over false petition in Ekiti

A chief Magistrate court sitting in Ikere-Ekiti, headquarters of Ikere Local Government Area of Ekiti state, has ordered the arrest and prosecution of a legal practitioner, Olaniran Owoseeni for filling false, malicious and frivolous petition against a middle-aged man in the state.

The police prosecutor, Inspector Bamidele Abiodun in charge number MCI/12C/2023 had sued one Samuel Ogundana before the court on a four-count charge following a petition from the legal practitioner.

In the charge, the defendant was accused of stealing, threatening violence and resisting public officers following the incident of retrieving his motorcycle from Odoga Augustine who defaulted in payment of the agreed monthly instalment fee.

The lawyer in a petition forwarded to the Area command of the police in Ikere-Ekiti, the defendant was arrested and alleged to have attacked the complainant with a machete in retrieving his motorcycle and as well made away with a sum of N150,000 kept under the motorcycle seat.

But, the presiding magistrate, Oyedotun Omoteye while delivering his judgment discharged and acquitted the defendant, adding that the prosecuting team failed to prove beyond reasonable doubt the allegations levelled against him.

He frowned at the actions of the lawyer over his “cooked up stories“ in his petition and ordered his immediate arrest by the police to serve as a deterrent to other legal practitioners who write false petitions in favour of their clients.

Magistrate said, “The involvement of Mr Olaniran Owoseni in this matter is utterly against the ethics of the legal profession. I considered him an accomplice in bringing up a false accusation against the Defendant. Mr Olaniran Owoseni has crossed the rubicon of his professional standing.

“I am fortified by Section 16 (1) & (2) of the Ekiti State Administration of Criminal Justice Law, 2014 (as amended) to order the arrest and prosecution of Mr Olaniran Owoseni and Odoga Augustine. This is a message to lawyers who engage in untoward conduct and sharp practices to make a living. The legal profession is a decent profession and that must be maintained at all times.

“This is also a message to the general public that lawyers are not trained to be liars and crooks. Lawyers are trained to be a minister of truth in the temple of justice and to live for the direction of his people and the advancement of the good cause of his society.”

While describing the actions of the nominal complainant and his lawyer as condemnable and wanting to reap where they did not sow, he awarded a cost of N100,000 in favour of the defendant to be paid by the complainant.

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