A Magistrate Court in Akure, the Ondo State capital, has ordered the arrest of the Commissioner for Women Affairs, Mrs. Seun Osamaye, over an alleged assault on a Chief Magistrate, Mrs. Temitope Alphonso.
According to the charge, the alleged assault occurred at the premises of the Ministry of Women Affairs while Chief Magistrate Alphonso was on an official engagement with the ministry’s Permanent Secretary, in the presence of ministry staff.
In an affidavit attached to the charge, Magistrate Alphonso stated that the incident followed a judgment she had earlier delivered which was unfavourable to the commissioner. The affidavit alleged that the commissioner responded by verbally abusing and physically assaulting the magistrate.
Part of the affidavit reads:
“That when I asked her to stop cursing, the defendant told me to shut up and said I was just a mere Magistrate, adding that even the Chief Judge of Ondo State cannot open his mouth when she is talking.”
“The defendant further warned me to watch my back, claiming she had all the apparatus to make me go missing if I was not careful. She beat her chest while making the threat.”
“She also stated that by the time she was finished with me, the Governor of Ondo State would not be able to rescue me, let alone the Chief Judge.”
At the hearing of the case today, the commissioner reportedly failed to appear in court. Her counsel, Barrister Adewusi, informed the court that she was receiving medical treatment at a hospital in Ilara-Mokin and requested a stand-down to allow time to present evidence of her hospitalization.
Magistrate Damilola Sekoni stood down the matter for one and a half hours, after which he ruled that the commissioner must appear in court or face legal consequences.
Upon resumption, a medical report was presented by the defence, but it sparked controversy as the prosecuting counsel challenged its authenticity.
In his ruling, Magistrate Sekoni rejected the medical report, describing it as unsatisfactory because it failed to confirm that the commissioner was admitted or medically unfit to attend court. The document did not include key details such as the date and time of admission, prompting the prosecution to describe it as hastily prepared and possibly forged.
Citing what he described as the commissioner’s disregard for the authority of the court, Magistrate Sekoni ordered her arrest and remand in prison custody. The case was adjourned until January 12.
As of the time of filing this report, the Ondo State Government had yet to issue an official response.
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