Man Jailed 30 Days For Contempt

For flouting the order of the court, a divorce-seeking husband, Mr Olaniyi Julius, has been sentenced to 30 days imprisonment at the Kirikiri Maximum Security Prisons, Apapa, Lagos, southwest Nigeria, by an Agege Grade A customary court.

The petitioner, who dragged his wife, Oluwatoyin Olaniyi, to court on claims of lack of respect and other irreconcilable differences, was sentenced to 30 days in jail for refusing to pay the monthly feeding allowance of N5,000 which he had sworn to pay at the next adjournment date.

During the proceedings, he was asked to pay up the money, which he could not do. He was then accused of committing contempt of court as a result of which the court president, Mr E.B.Shokunle, said: “In view of this, you have contravened the order of the court and by your action, you have committed an offence known as contempt of court.

He sentenced him to 30 days imprisonment at Kirikiri prisonswithout an option of fine to serve as a deterrent to others.

The court president adjourned the case to 5 May, 2011.

—Ibrahim Bakare