1st May, 2024
By Adekunle Williams
An 80-year-old woman, Muniat Bello on Tuesday led members of the Kumueifo Oba Olaribigbe family to the Lagos House of Assembly in the protest over an alleged plot by the state’s Attorney-General to discontinue a case of illegal building demolition involving her family and a socialite, Nollah Sikiru.
Bello also submitted a petition to the House on the matter while appealing to members of the Assembly to allow justice to prevail.
Bello said the protest was to register their displeasure over a letter purportedly written by the attorney-general directing the discontinuation of the case of illegal demolition of their family house, against a Lagos socialite, Nollah Sikiru.
“We are here for a protest because of what is happening between the family of Kumuyifu Akinyigbe family with the Attorney-General of Lagos State, Mr Lawal Pedro, and Sikiru Nollah.
“Our prayer is that we want the House of Assembly to stop him not to strike out the case in court because if he does, there will be unrest in the area.
“We are begging the attorney-general to leave our case alone and let justice prevail on the issue.
“The civil side is in the high court before Justice Ogunjobi, while the criminal side against Nollah Sikiru is the one that the attorney-general wants to strike out.
“We are just wondering how the attorney-general that said the accused person has a case to answer suddenly turned back and said Nollah has no case to answer,” he said.
Bello said the Director of Prosecution in the Ministry of Justice did their findings and got to know that the Nollah had a case to answer, according to the report of the Department of Public Prosecution (DPP).
“The case was charged to court in February, so we have been in court for the first, second and the third adjournment but the Nollah has refused to show up in court, then the judge had no alternative than to issue a bench warrant against the accused person.
“After the bench warrant was issued the Attorney General of Lagos State had the gut to say that he didn’t send the prosecuting panel to collect a warrant of arrest for the accused person.
“We are now wondering what is happening and how can he do that. He was the one that sent the DPP officials and they came and said the accused person has a case to answer.
“Now that the case is going on, the attorney- general allegedly filed a notice of withdrawal of the case,” she said.
Bello said they wrote a petition to the Lagos State Control Building Agency (LASCBA) to know whether it was the one that asked him to demolish their house ,but the agency said they did not know anything about it.
She said the attorney- general wrote to them in another letter attached to the one he was using to strike out the case that the agency said they were the one that asked Sikiru to demolish the family building.
Addressing the protesters, the House Deputy Majority Leader, Mr Adedamola Kasunmu, pointed out that nobody in the state is above the law.
According to him, even the lawmakers that are the people’s representatives are also bound by the law of the state, let alone any other citizen of the state.
“So, we are all important people but it is just the opportunity that differentiates us.
“We have heard your complaint you have brought to us because there is nobody that will labour and want another unknown person to destroy what the family has laboured for over the years.
“So, because of this, we will receive the petition you have brought to us and we will present it to the Speaker and I want to assure you that the family will get justice at the end of the day,” he said.
Kasunmu, representing Ikeja II, thanked family for the peaceful protest, urging them to go home peacefully and avoid any trouble so they could continue to remain on the right side of the law.
A Lagos High Court sitting at the Tafawa Balewa Square, had on March 12 issued a bench warrant against Sikiru Nollah, a socialite, charged with wilful damage of a building.
Justice Sherifat Sonaike issued the bench warrant after Nollah refused to appear before the court for trial.
Sonaike ordered that the defendant be arrested anywhere he is found.
The Lagos State Government, through Dr Babajide Martins, the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP), had brought a charge to the court that the defendant and others at large committed the offences sometime in 2023, at No. 20A Church St., Lagos Island.
Martins said that the defendant unlawfully damaged the property of one Kumefo Olaribigbe.
According to him, the property was managed by one Mr Hakeem Olawuyi.
(NAN)(www. nannews.ng)