Despite the ongoing strike action by the Judiciary Staff Union of Nigeria (JUSUN), a Chief Magistrates Court on Monday ordered the remand in prison custody of a 30-year-old man, Azeez Maroof, over an alleged armed robbery charge.
The arraignment which could not take place in the courtroom following the industrial action of JUSUN was moved to the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) section at the police headquarters.
Maroof was remanded at the Ado-Ekiti correctional centre pending legal advice from the office of State Director of Public Prosecution (DPP).
The police prosecutor, Mr Samson Osobu, said the defendant committed the offence on May 8, in Ise-Ekiti, Ise-Orun local government area of Ekiti State.
According to him, the defendant committed an offence of armed robbery on one Alakofa Isaac, when he collected his Bajaj Boxer motorcycle valued at N300,000.
He said the offence contravened Sections 1 (2) (a) and (b) of the Robbery and Firearms (Special Provision) Act.
The Chief Magistrate, Abdulhamid Lawal, who did not take the plea of the defendant ordered his remand and adjourned the case till June 30 for mention.
Meanwhile, the leadership of JUSUN in the state has distanced its members from Monday’s sitting, saying there was no agreement with anyone on the trial of criminal suspects in the state.
The JUSUN chairperson, Mrs Rachael Ayeni, who spoke with Nigerian Tribune said the strike action is ongoing, adding that magistrates are not members of the union.
According to her, “we are not in agreement with anyone on the issue of the court sitting and we are not aware of sitting today. The strike is in full force and we are monitoring the situation in the court every day.
“Let me say this that magistrates are not part of JUSUN, it is only their clerks that are our members and none of the clerks working in the magistrates’ office was available for the said trial today.”
YOU SHOULD NOT MISS THESE HEADLINES FROM NIGERIAN TRIBUNE
We Have Not Had Water Supply In Months ― Abeokuta Residents
In spite of the huge investment in the water sector by the government and international organisations, water scarcity has grown to become a perennial nightmare for residents of Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital. This report x-rays the lives and experiences of residents in getting clean, potable and affordable water amidst the surge of COVID-19 cases in the state.
and then