There is a palpable tension in Ondo state over a decision of the State Court to order the arrest of the state Commissioner for Women Affairs, Dr. Seun Osamaye and to be remanded in prison custody.
A female Magistrate had filed a suit against the Commissioner in what can be described as a battle between the Executive arm and the Judiciary arm of the state government.
The order has been viewed in some quarters as a judiciary gang up against the Women affairs commissioner.
It was learnt that the commissioner was said to have advised the Magistrate during a meeting at the Ministry of women affairs on a case of child custody, but the advice was said not to go down well with the Magistrate.
The state Magistrate Court in Akure today ordered the arrest of Mrs. Seun Osamaye, Ondo State Commissioner for Women Affairs, over allegations of physically assaulting a Chief Magistrate, Mrs. Temitope Alphonso.
The alleged incident reportedly occurred at the Ministry of Women Affairs while Chief Magistrate Alphonso was attending an official engagement with the ministry’s Permanent Secretary, in the presence of ministry staff.
According to an affidavit attached to the charge, the assault followed a judgment delivered by Magistrate Alphonso that was unfavourable to the commissioner.
The affidavit alleges that Mrs. Osamaye verbally abused the magistrate. Part of the affidavit states:
“When I asked her to stop cursing, the defendant told me to shut up and said I was just a mere Magistrate, adding that even the Chief Judge of Ondo State cannot open his mouth when she is talking.
She warned me to watch my back, claiming she had all the apparatus to make me go missing if I was not careful.
She beat her chest while making the threat and stated that by the time she was finished with me, the Governor of Ondo State would not be able to rescue me, let alone the Chief Judge.”
At the court hearing, the commissioner failed to appear. Her counsel, Barrister Adewusi, informed the court that she was receiving medical treatment at a hospital in Ilara-Mokin and requested a short adjournment to present proof of her hospitalization.
Magistrate Damilola Sekoni granted a one-and-a-half-hour stand-down but later ruled that the commissioner must appear in court or face legal consequences.
Upon resumption, a medical report was submitted by the defence, but the prosecution challenged its authenticity.
Magistrate Sekoni described the document as unsatisfactory, noting it lacked crucial details such as the date and time of admission. He questioned whether it was hastily prepared or possibly forged.
Citing the commissioner’s alleged disregard for court authority, Magistrate Sekoni ordered her arrest and remand in prison custody.
The case has been adjourned to January 12 for further proceedings.
The court’s order has been gathered to be causing uneasy calm and anger among top government functionaries in the state.
