A magistrate court in Osun State on Wednesday issued a fresh bench warrant for the arrest of the Oluwo of Iwoland, Oba AbdulRasheed Akanbi.
Magistrate Olusola Aluko who gave the warrant said it was necessary for the Oluwo to appear before the court to confirm or refute some statements the court considered contemptuous, which were credited to the monarch in the media.
The Oluwo had refused to appear before the court, stating that he has been represented by his chiefs.
The magistrate noted that Oba Akanbi ought to have been arrested and produced in court at the next adjourned date following the warrant issued against the traditional ruler.
Aluko stated, “Bench warrant was issued in the presence of his lawyer, Mr. Olaide Yekin, and counsel for the Commissioner of Police, Mr. Abass Haruna; the OC Legal, State CID of Osun command. That was on December 20.
“After the event of the last adjourned date, the online media was awash with threats allegedly issued by the first respondent, Oba Abdulrasheed Adewale, to arrest me traditionally.
“I personally read and watched on Channels Television on Friday, December 23, 2016; then, on Monday, December 26, 2016, PUNCH newspaper published on page 12 a story captioned: ‘I’ll not appear before Osun magistrate.’ The story was also promoted on the front page of the paper. In the body of the story, the first respondent was quoted to have said, ‘It is a shame on the judiciary to have such magistrate sitting.’ I have the print-out of the statement based on Channels Television and newspaper publication.
“There is no doubt that the statements are contemptuous in nature and they are meant to embarrass and humiliate this court. Under the law, it is contempt espacal, which attracts punitive action.
“This court has a duty to protect itself from assault and preserve the sanctity of the judiciary and due process. Therefore, the case, which brought the parties before me, is hereby stepped down until this issue of contempt is cleared.”
The magistrate added, “Let me quickly add that so far bench warrant was not issued against the commissioner of police is not an excuse for the first respondent(Oluwo) not to appear on the summons on him on the October 10, 2016. The commissioner of police was sued in his official capacity hence, he needs not to appear personally. “It is on that score that another bench warrant is hereby issued on the first respondent, Oba Rasheed Adewale, to appear before this court again personally on the first adjourned date, which is December 30, 2016, to come and confirm if indeed he made those statements.”
The Oluwo of Iwo Oke, Osun State, Oba Kadiri Adeoye had accused Oba Akanbi of being involved in Internet fraud and having been convicted in the United States and deported to Nigeria.
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