Traditional Ruler Of Kirikiri, Chief, Spend Weekend In Prison

Kirikiri

The Baale of Kirikiri town, Lagos, Chief Waheed Sumonu Agunbiade, 82, and his deputy, Chief Kayode Ewarawon, are spending the weekend in prison after they were denied bail following their arraignment before a magistrate court late on Friday, an arraignment alleged to be a ploy to keep them in prison for the weekend by the police.

A businessman, who was said to have lodged a complaint of threat to life against them, was alleged to be working in concert with the police and the magistrate.

The plot to imprison them got credence as they honoured an invitation to report at the Area B Headquarters, Apapa, Lagos at 9 am on Friday, and waited there unattended to until about 4 pm when they were taken to court for arraignment.

The magistrate reportedly failed to release them on bail even on self recognition as traditional chiefs and they had to be taken to Kirikiri Prisons pending tomorrow when they can perfect their bail conditions.

Agunbiade narrated his ordeal to Sunday Vanguard at the Kirikiri Prisons, yesterday.

He said that before he and his deputy were arraigned and imprisoned, the businessman, who, according to him, is also a claimant to the baale of Kirikiri stool, had threatened that he was going to deal with him but that he didn’t take it serious.

The octogenarian said that, on Wednesday, a police officer, from Area B Command, Apapa, brought a petition that was written against him and the other chiefs, by the businessman that they were threatening his life and property, and that they were needed at the police station, to give statements on Thursday. On Thursday, according to him, they went to the police station to give the statements, after which they were asked to come back on Friday for fact-finding which they also did, but, on getting there, they were delayed till evening when they were charged to court and were subsequently remanded in prison.

He said, “We got there around 10 am, but we were detained until around 4pm, when we were taken to court without the police carrying out any investigation over the allegation against us.

“While we were at the station, we discovered that they had already prepared the charge against us. Even when I tried to explain to the Area Commander, Mr Mohammed, he refused to listen to us. He said they should just take us to court.” [Vanguard]