The magistrate’s court sitting in Yaba,
Lagos, yesterday, witnessed a mild drama
following an outburst by one of the arraigned
suspects.
The incident occurred during the hearing of a two-
count felony charge brought against the suspect,
Tunde Balogun (21), who instead of pleading to
the charges, brought out some drugs from his
pocket as he cried to the magistrate: “Please Ma, I
have been on these drugs since Saturday. I am
not feeling okay. I have not had anything to eat
since morning. Please Ma, if you can help me, just
give me something so that I can swallow these
drugs.”
This prompted the magistrate to halt the session
for some minutes to ascertain the health
condition of the accused from the Prosecuting
Officer who brought him to court. It was then
revealed that it was a strategy to distract the
court session.
After the second charge was read, the accused
remained silent for a while, after which he told
the magistrate: “I heard what you said, but I don’t
know anything about the charges you just read to
me. I am not guilty of the charges. I am not
feeling very fine, please I need to take these
medications I bought from the chemist since
Saturday.”
It was further revealed by some witnesses at the
hearing that a previous case of felony and assault
committed against a young lady in February 2013,
was struck out in court last Friday, but instead of
turning a new leaf, the accused who is a son of a
retired court official, committed another felony
the next day.
According to a witness,“he is unrepentant and this
has caused his father, who is a retired court
registrar, so much pain.”
When asked reasons for misbehaving during the
hearing, the accused told our reporter: “Truly, I
am innocent of the charge against me. That
evening, I went with one of my friends to
purchase some drugs at a chemist, and suddenly
we heard people shouting and running after
some young men.
“In confusion, we joined them, but before I knew
what was happening, they mobbed me. They
broke a bottle on my head in the process. Look at
the wound,” he said, showing off a wounded back
of his head.