The Lagos State Government has transferred Chief Magistrate Afolashade Botoku from the Ebute-Meta Magistrate’s Court.
It was gathered that the chief magistrate was transferred for granting bail to the Managing Director of Lekki Gardens, Mr. Richard Nyong, on self-recognition and admitting a contractor, Odofin Taiwo, to bail in the sum of N10m before the expiration of a remand order she had earlier granted.
Botoku was transferred on Tuesday to a lower court after she was issued a query, according to Punch reports.
It was reported that 35 people were killed after a building belonging to Lekki Gardens collapsed in the Lekki area of the state in March.
The Lagos State Governor, Akinwunmi Ambode, had ordered that Nyong and Taiwo should be arrested if they failed to submit themselves to the police.
The two men surrendered and a legal team at the State Department of Criminal Investigation, Yaba, took them to the Ebute-Meta Magistrate’s Court for an order to remand them in custody for the first 30 days.
Botoku had on March 11 granted the request before she adjourned till April 12.
However, before the expiration of the remand order, the defence counsel filed a formal application for bail, faulting the ex parte application of the police that led to the remand.
Botoku subsequently admitted the two defendants to bail, saying the prosecution did not oppose the application, among other reasons.
It was gathered that the decision did not go down well with the state government and a query was issued to Botoku.
A source in the court said she received a transfer letter on Tuesday.
He said, “I can’t give you details of the incident because this is basically a judiciary matter. But I can confirm to you that she collected the transfer letter yesterday. Nobody has been assigned to the court for now.”
Another source said the chief magistrate was transferred to a customary court, adding that she wept upon receiving the letter.
He said, “The authorities said she ought not to have granted the bail since the mandatory 30 days had not yet elapsed. If she had followed the due process by allowing the 30 days to elapse first before granting the bail, maybe this would not have happened. She was queried and taken to a customary court as punishment. She cried throughout yesterday (Tuesday).”
The source said a new magistrate from the Igbosere Magistrates’ Court had been assigned to the court.
However, another official said that the chief magistrate was removed due to many petitions written against her on the matter.
He said, “You’re correct that she has been transferred. I was told that she was taken to Alausa, Ikeja. It had to do with the Lekki Gardens’ case. A lot of people wrote petitions and a panel of enquiry was set up by the government.”
The spokesperson for the Lagos State Judicial Service Commission, Moses Akinniyi, said he was not allowed to disclose any information without authorisation.
He said, “When a decision is taken over any officer by the commission if it is for public consumption, I will be asked to release it. But if I have not been authorised to release any information, I cannot give it out. I will have to seek permission to do that.”
The Public Relations Officer of the Ministry of Justice, Mrs. Bola Akingbade, referred our correspondent to another official, whom she said was in charge of transfers in the state’s magistrates’ courts.
However, the official’s phone indicated that it was switched off.
Akingbade promised to get back to our correspondent after she was told that the contact was not reachable.
But she had yet to do so as of press time.
The Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Steve Ayorinde, could not be reached on his telephone line and he had yet to reply to a text message sent to him as of the time of filing this report.
Credit: Punch
