A journalist from Champion Newspapers, Arinze Nwafor, was bewildered Wednesday when he was docked by a Judge of the Lagos High Court, Justice Latifat Oluyemi who accused the reporter for covering a proceeding in her courtroom without permission.
The incident which has become a constant occurrences recently before some courts in the Judiciary of the Lagos State, happened after the judge delivered a ruling on an interlocutory injunction application brought by a set of an aggrieved traders of the Mile 12 market against the Lagos State Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice.
The judge had dismissed the application based on some anomalies surrounding the writ of summons not being properly signed and that some sections of the documents were not visible for reading, subsequently advising parties to reach an amicable resolution to their dispute.
The ruling did not go down well with the counsel of the aggrieved traders, and there were weird reactions from other lawyers in the court as to why the judge disregarded the merits of the parties’ application and raised an entirely new issue suo moto.
As the proceeding progressed, the judge sighted the journalist making some jottings, suddenly asked the journalist to step out into the dock and queried him why ‘recording the proceedings’ in her courtroom without permission.
The journalist admitted recording the proceeding by writing with a writing pad and pen, denying audio recording.
Subsequently the judge then ordered the journalist to stay in the dock for the day and hear all other proceedings of the court since he wanted to record court proceedings.
Reacting to this mild drama after proceedings, the counsel to the aggrieved traders, Gbolahan Quadri, noted that the dismissal of their application based on an unexplained and previously unmentioned defect runs contrary to fundamental principles of justice and casts doubts on the integrity and fairness of the judicial process.
He therefore urged the relevant authorities to investigate the matter.
The respondents in the suit include Ikosi/Isheri Local Council Development Area, Dr Chris Onyekachi, Total Value Integrated Services Limited, and Lagos State Ministry of Physical Planning and Urban Development.
The application was initiated by the Incorporated Trustees of Orirere Community Leaders and Traders Association, Precious Ojo, Alhaji Akinwale Jimoh, and Babatunde Adetula.
Dr Chris Onyekachi and his company Total Value Integrated Services Limited have several matters relating to the demolition of markets in Lagos. A recent such is the ongoing case of demolition of the white sand market in Oyingbo before Justice Idowu Akinkunmi.
