BY REBECCA AJANI
GOVERNOR Rotimi Akeredolu has directed the Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice in Ondo State to investigate an allegation by a man, who identified himself as a stepbrother to the Chief Judge of the state, that he had been detained for three years for going to his father’s house.
The man, identified as Oluwapelumi Fagboyegun, said in a video released on Monday, which has gone viral, that he was arrested, locked up, and charged with forceful entry into his father’s house on the orders of the Chief Judge, Olarenwaju Akeredolu.
He called on the Chief Justice of Nigeria to rescue him from the Ondo State Judiciary, which he claimed was being run like a family affair.
“I have instructed my AG to investigate the allegation. We will ensure the investigation is thorough, fair and transparent,” Akeredolu tweeted in reaction to the allegation.
Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice in the state, Charles Titiloye, also confirmed that the governor had directed that the allegation be investigated.
He said in a statement that the Governor had directed the Department of Public Prosecution to immediately investigate the allegation “made against the Chief Judge of Ondo State, Hon Justice 0. O. Akeredolu by Mr Olupelumi Fagboyegun (her brother) in a video that went viral on social media platforms on the 15th of February, 2015 wherein he alleged that Ondo State Judiciary and Courts were being used by the Chief Judge to persecute him and keep him in custody for the past three years on trumped-up criminal allegation of unlawful entry into his father’s house.”
The statement, signed by the Personal Assistant to the Commissioner, Adenike Akinbosade, said the investigation into the matter would be thorough, fair and transparent in order to assure the public that Governor Akeredolu’s administration was determined to preserve the integrity of the Courts and the Judiciary and ensure that it remained the last hope of the common man.
The Chief Judge’s step brother, Fagboyegun, in his video, had said, “The Honourable Chief Justice of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, I am calling you to please rescue me from the hands of the Ondo State Judiciary that is being run like a family affair, that if you don’t know anybody, you cannot get justice.
“l have been living abroad for the past 30 years, I came on holiday to Nigeria to my father’s house because I share the same father with the Chief Judge of Ondo State. I was arrested at my father’s clave, I was locked up, and was charged with forceful entry into my father’s house.
“Even if I was convicted of this crime, it only carries a one-year prison penalty, but I have been on open remand for the past three years. This case has been going on for the past three years because the Chief Judge is using her power to influence the judicial system.
“I have been unable to get justice; they have changed judges five times; they have re-arraigned me five times; they have changed their charges five times, and up till today, February 15, 2021, that I am talking to you, the case is still pending. Please come and rescue me.
“The Ondo State Government cannot help me because the Ondo State Government is a family business, Buhari, save me from the hands of this woman to go back to my family. I want to go back to my children. I am a single parent.
“This woman is keeping me here for the past three years for coming to my father’s house. Please help me, I want to go back to my family.”
