By Onyewuchi Ojinnaka
A judiciary officer with the Lagos State Magistrate court sitting at Igbosere, Chief Magistrate Folashade Botoku, on Thursday ordered three journalists who were in court to cover court proceedings to leave the court room immediately.
The journalists ordered by the Chief Magistrate to leave the court room are Onozure Dania from Vanguard Newspaper, Yetunde Ayobami Ojo from The Guardian, and Ayodele Olalere of Take a Break Media.
The marching order to the journalists by the Magistrate was consequent upon the journalists disagreement with some lawyers who came to court late and asked the journalists to vacate their seats on the litigants side for them.
The media men had arrived the court room much earlier despite the heavy downpour and had taken their seats in the section reserved for litigants. Unexpectedly, they were asked by the registrar of the court to vacate their seats to allow lawyers who came very late to court, to sit.
However, when the judiciary reporters demanded to know why they should vacate their seats since they were not occupying the section reserved for lawyers, the registrar then called the court’s orderly identified as one Rose Onafu, to ‘bundle them’ (journalists) out of the courtroom.
“Where is the police, come and bundle them out.” the registrar screamed
The court orderly Onafu inturn shouted, “Leave the courtroom right now, this is not your office.”
The development consequently led into another confrontation when a counsel from the Lagos State Ministry of Justice waded in and asked why the registrar would ask the journalists out of the court since they were not sitting at the Bar.
Unfortunately, Chief Magistrate Botoku, who had stepped into the court room, two hours behind the regular time of sitting from her chambers, directed that the registrar should show the journalists the way out of the court room.
When the registrar eventually got to where the journalists were seated, she said: “Get out of this court, we have told you, this is not your office. This court is meant for lawyers and not litigants.”
The pressmen stepped out as ordered.
It would be noted that the reporters had gone to the court to cover a matter involving a businessman, Paul Ojoje and Princely Court, owners of Protea Hotel, Kuramo Waters, over a debt of N7 million.
The said sum was said to have been the cost of 60,000 litres of diesel allegedly supplied to the hotel by Ojoje’s oil firm in 2011.
The businessman had earlier petitioned the former Chief Judge of the state, Justice Olufunmilayo Atilade, sequel to several adjournments the suit had suffered since it was filed in 2011.
This prompted the transfer of the case from Magistrate I.O Ogunade, who was hitherto presiding over the matter to Magistrate Botoku.
It would be recalled that at a meeting between the current Chief Judge (CJ) of Lagos state, Justice Opeyemi Oke and judiciary correspondents upon her assumption of office as Lagos State Chief Judge, her attention was drawn to the manner in which journalists were being treated by some magistrates and judges.
At the said meeting, the CJ had promised to address the issue by reaching out to the judges and magistrates concerned not to prevent journalists from reporting court proceedings.
