Admin I Tuesday, June 6, 2023
LEKKI, Lagos – But for having a change of mind, Magistrate H.O. Omisore sitting at Ajah, Lekki, Lagos would have revoked bail granted a defendant, Joseph Alarape and have been sent back to Kirikiri Correctional Facility for having the courage to charge his phone inside the court room with the judge presiding.
Joseph Alarape and his wife Modupe Odegbami are standing trial for alleged breach of contract in sales agreement they have with a company that supplied them goods for sale.
They were required to make sales and make payment into the company account but they were alleged to have diverted money from the sales into personal account.
Upon arriving court after administrative bail, he connected his phone into the charging terminal of the court brushing aside warning from the female orderly to Magistrate H. O Omisore.
As soon as the case of the couple was called, he along with his wife proceeded to the dock with his handbag on his armpit, a development that infuriated the judge, prompting her to beam her searchlight on the area surrounding the dock.
Just besides the dock the Magistrate sighted a phone plugged into the maims of the court forcing her to pulse the trial to inquire about ownership of the phone.
“Who has that phone, charging phone in my court without my permission? But there was no answer, but following her persistence, Joseph Alarape reluctantly owned up to ownership of the phone.
“How dare you, you did not only stand in the dock with your handbag in your armpit, you have the audacity to charge your phone in my court? Where is my orderly, please take that phone. You will go to Ikeja and tell the CSO, why you are charging your phone in my court. Do you think this is a business centre, where you can walk in and charge your phone?
“Please walk him out of my court, orderly, I say take him down”, and he was decently led out of the court by her orderly forcing the Magistrate to suspend sitting for over thirty minutes.
Magistrate also threatened to revoke his bail as he walked out of the court . But on her return to court, tempers seems to have calmed, and the defendant was called to the dock with stern warning never to charge his phone in her court.
