- Did policemen actually beat up magistrate and lawyers in court premises?
When policemen take the law into their own hands, it is a sure sign of law and order going awry. The anomaly was obvious at Umuneke Ngor Magistrate’s Court in the Ngor Okpala Local Government Area of Imo State when policemen on July 17 under the supervision of the Divisional Police Officer in the area allegedly invaded the court and beat up the Chief Magistrate, Ngozi Onyenemezu, for discharging three armed robbery suspects.
The defence counsel, Emma Eke and Chukwuemeka Anyanwu, were also allegedly beaten, arrested and bundled to the sate Criminal Investigation and Intelligence Department in Owerri. They were later arraigned before the Magistrate’s Court 1 in Owerri.
The Assistant Secretary of Owerri Chapter of the Nigeria Bar Association (NBA), Chinedu Agu, who drew public attention to the absurdity, said three accused persons were arraigned before the Umuneke Ngor Magistrate’s Court where the counsel representing the accused persons, Eke and Anyanwu, raised a preliminary objection on the grounds that the charge was defective and urged the court to strike it out and discharge the accused persons.
Agu’s narrative showed an ugly sequence of events: ”In his ruling, the court upheld the arguments of the counsel and struck out the charge. Immediately the ruling was delivered and while the court was still sitting, the police went berserk. They shouted and rained vituperations on the magistrate and made to rearrest the accused persons. When the court wanted to call them to order, the policemen made for the magistrate like rabid dogs and the magistrate quickly took refuge in his chambers. Some other lawyers and litigants scampered to safety when the police started shooting into the air. Anyawu in the process escaped the beating by the police and scurried into the magistrate’s chambers.”
What followed stood professionalism on its head. Agu’s account: ”The policemen, led by the DPO of that division, banged on the door of the magistrate’s chambers, accusing him of taking a bribe and threatening to break down the door if he didn’t open it. The DPO got hold of the accused persons and in the process of rearresting them, one escaped. He accused Eke of complicity in the escape of the other accused person. Before he could explain himself, he got hold of one of the nail-ridden chairs and smashed it on Eke’s head. Other policemen joined in this orgy and Emma was maimed and beaten into a pulp. It took the quick intervention of the Area Commander who arrived at the scene to rescue the magistrate.”
It is a measure of outrage that no fewer than 80 lawyers led by a former Commissioner for Justice and Attorney General in the state, Soronadi Njoku, announced appearances for the two lawyers who were arraigned by the police. The presiding magistrate, ROC Nwoka, granted the two lawyers bail on self recognisance. The matter will continue on July 30. It is reassuring that the Owerri NBA Chairman, Damian Nosike, was quoted as saying that the branch would pursue justice. He demanded that those who beat the magistrate and lawyers be expelled from the police and arraigned.
It is noteworthy that the Police Public Relations Officer in the state, Andrew Enwerem, said that policemen neither beat the magistrate nor invaded the court. He accused the lawyers of aiding the escape of two of the three armed robbery suspects. It is important to establish what happened. The police authorities should do so objectively.
If the police are dissatisfied with the court’s ruling, the lawful thing to do is to pursue a review lawfully. The policemen who allegedly beat the magistrate and lawyers displayed contempt for the judiciary. Their conduct encouraged chaos. They stand condemned and should be investigated and prosecuted.
