A Mapo Customary Court in Ibadan on Friday,  dissolved the marriage between two school teachers, John Fawole and his wife, Mary, over battery and threat to life

Delivering judgment, Chief Ademola Odunade, who granted Mary’s application for the dissolution, the two avoid confrontation with each other in the future.

Mary, who lives in Kolapo Isola-Genral Gas area in Ibadan, filed for divorce on grounds of  battery and threat to life.

The petitioner called her husband irresponsible and a monster

Fawole, who resides in Olunwola area in Ibadan, blamed his mother-in-law for he and his wife’s many troubles with her alleged constant interferences in their marriage.

He gave his consent for the divorce.

Fawole also accused his mother-in-law of having a hand in the collapse of his marriage.

“Rather than ensure that our relationship remained solid, her mother created disharmony in our home.

“My wife and I had two children, but she killed them by taking them to a quack doctor who gave them fake drugs when they were sick.

“I have been a good husband and father all along, but her mother is a devil incarnate who never allowed our marriage to work,” he said.

(NAN)

Magistrate in Lagos may soon begin to determine fate of minor offenders under detention should amendment of Criminal Justice law administration before the State House of Assembly is approved and assented to by the governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu.

To determine minor offenders fate, the magistrate would be conducting monthly inspection tour of Nigerian police stations or other places of detention within their jurisdiction and grant bail to offenders earlier denied.

The proposal to grant magistrate power to set minor offenders free was contained in the bill currently been debated by lawmakers on floor of the house which seek to amend Criminal Justice Law, Cap A3, Laws of Lagos State, 2015.

These were revealed during a one-day public hearing on a bill to amend criminal justice administration organised by the House Committee On Judiciary, Human Rights, Public Petitions and Lagos State Independent Electoral Commission (LASIEC) at the Lagos assembly pavilion, Ikeja.

Giving an overview of the bill on Thursday, Majority Leader of the House,  Sanai Agunbiade, said that the new innovations and other amendments were introduced into the bill to strengthen administration of criminal justice law of the state.

In the bill, Agunbiade disclosed that Section 9 states that a person under police detention should be given reasonable facilities for obtaining legal advice, bail or afforded the liberty to make arrangements for his defence or release from custody.

On the right of suspects, the lawmaker hinted that section 7 of the bill prevents the law enforcement agencies from arresting Lagosians merely on a civil wrong or breach of contract as well as barred the police from parading any suspect before the media.

According to him, section 76 of the bill states that prosecutor may receive and consider a plea bargain from a defendant charged with an offence either directly or on behalf of the defendant, and that he may offer a plea bargain to a defendant charged with an offence.

He said: “The bill in section 181 (b) reads that a witness who refuses to attend court proceedings shall be liable on summary conviction to a penalty not exceeding N20,000 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 2months”.

Agunbiade added that the bill granted court permission to strike out any case that prosecutor failed to appear and discharge the defendant unless it has  received a reasonable excuse from the prosecution for the non-appearance of the witness.

The Chairman of All Progressive Congress in Niger State, Jibrim Imam and the treasurer, Shaffi Abdulsalam, were on Wednesday remanded at the Minna Correctional Center by a Chief Magistrate Court pending the ruling on their bail application on Friday.

The two were arraigned before the Chief Magistrate, Nasiru Mauzu, on three counts of criminal conspiracy, criminal breach of trust and criminal misappropriation.

The prosecutor, Ahmed Saidu, said Iman and Shafi, along with the two others still at large, connived to misappropriate nearly N800m belonging to the state APC.

The prosecutor also claimed that the accused also misappropriated other funds of the APC Niger State.

The prosecution alleged that the welfare officer of the party, Alhaji Muka Fasasi, confessed to have collected N4.8m from members of the state House Assembly which the accused allegedly shared.

The prosecution said he was opposed to their being granted bail, as the two of the accused were still at large.

However, counsel for the accused, Isah Suleiman, urged the court to admit his clients to bail.

The chief magistrate reserved the ruling on the oral bail application till Friday and directed that the accused should be kept in custody.

Justice Taiwo Taiwo of the Abuja Division of the Federal High Court on Wednesday declined to entertain the suit challenging the dissolution of the Adams Oshiomhole-led National Working Committee (NWC) during the court’s vacation period.

Justice Taiwo, who refused to take the matter during the court vacation, said that the suit is not a pre-election matter that must be heard within a particular time frame.

A Youth Leader of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Abia State, Kalu Kalu, had dragged the National Executive Council (NEC) to court over the sack of the NWC barely two years in office.

In the suit, the plaintiff asked for an order of the Federal High Court, Abuja, setting aside the dissolution of the NWC by APC’s NEC meeting held at the Presidential Villa in June this year.

Meanwhile, the plaintiff had asked the court to order the continuing hearing of the substantive suit during the ongoing vacation of the Federal High Court.

Kalu also pleaded with the court for another order abridging the time within which the 14 respondents are to file and serve jointly or severally their counter affidavit and other processes in response to the suit.

Delivering ruling in the application, however, the judge held that it does not fall under the contemplation of Section 285 of the 1999 Constitution that mandates the court to hear and conclude a pre-election matter within 180 days.

The court also noted that it was not filed by an aspirant seeking nomination for an election or political party seeking to participate in an election.

Besides, Justice Taiwo further said that the APC chieftain, who instituted the suit, has not shown how he will be denied fair hearing if the matter is not heard during vacation.

The plaintiff in the substantive suit is praying the court for an order restraining the National Caretaker Committee members led by Mai Mala Buni from parading themselves as national officers of the APC and from usurping the functions of the party’s NWC.