Court orders arrest of Lagos prince for contempt

BY INNOCENT ANABA
LAGOS — An Igbosere chief magistrate's court in Lagos, has ordered the arrest of Prince Ibikunle Fafunwa for contempt of court. Also ordered to be arrested is one Jimoh Anjoso.

Chief Magistrate O. O. Oshin, who gave the order, directed “all police officers(s) within the Lagos State jurisdiction to arrest and bring before her,”the two contempnors, for flouting the order issued by her court on March 21, 2013. Ibikunle Fafunwa is a prince in the Onikoyi Ruling House, Ikoyi, Lagos State.

The applicants, Alhaji Samsideen Ope and Alhaji Muhammed had dragged Ibikunle Fafunwa and Jimoh Anjoso before Chief Magistrate  Oshin, seeking an order of the court, binding over the two respondents, either by themselves, their servants, agents or privies from harassing, vandalizing, intimidating, disturbing the peace of the applicant’s community and to be of good behaviour for at least 12 months.

Counsel to respondents, Bimbo Kasumu, in a preliminary objection to the suit, argued that the “binding over application relates to the title of Onikoyi Chieftaincy family land at Parkview Estate, Ikoyi, Lagos, which is outside the jurisdiction of the court and that Chief Patrick Onikoyi is the Onikoyi of Ikoyi and Imoba land of Lagos State.”

The respondents also argued that they were not personally served with the motion on notice for binding over as the applicants dropped the processes at the Onikoyi Palace gate at Block 5, Plot 6, Onikoyi Lane, Parkview Estate, Ikoyi, Lagos.

However, in her ruling, Magistrate Oshin dismissed the objection as lacking in merit and held that the suit before her was that of binding over and not chieftaincy or land matter.

Consequently, the court ordered that the two respondents be bound over to keep the peace for a period of one year, “the respondents, their servants, agents and privies are equally restrained from harassing, intimidating or disturbing the peace of the applicants and their community.”

The applicants returned to court via a motion ex-parte,  seeking an order “by allowing/directing police officer(s) within the Lagos State jurisdiction to arrest and bring before the court” the two respondents, including their agents, servants and privies for having violated the binding over order of Chief Magistrate Oshin of March 21, 2013.

Consequently, Chief Magistrate  Oshin ordered all police officer(s) in Lagos State to arrest and bring before her, the two respondents, in order that they may be committed to prisons for a period not exceeding one month.

Alhaji Muhammed Duale described the Judgment as a victory for the rule of law and our current democracy. He, however, lamented that the inter-play of some powerful forces, especially a first class Oba on Lagos Island that has so far frustrated the attempt to arrest the alleged contemptnors.