Chief
Magistrate Folashade Botoku of an Ebute Metta Chief Magistrate’s Court, Lagos,
yesterday admitted the Managing Director of Lekki Gardens, Mr. Richard Nyong
and one of the contractors that supervised the collapsed five-storey building,
Mr. Taiwo Odofin to bail.
The
court also ordered the duo to deposit their international passports, not to
travel abroad and report to the police between the hours of 8am and 5pm every
working day pending the determination of their matter.
Nyong
and Odofin were arrested shortly after a five-storey building under
construction on Kushenla Road, Ikate Elegushi area of the state collapsed and
killed no fewer than 34 persons. The building had crumbled around 4 am with
several persons trapped in the rubble, forcing the state government to seal the
building.
The
duo had earlier been remanded in prison custody by the Magistrate following an
ex-parte application brought before the court by the Officer-in-Charge of Legal
Department of Police, CSP Thomas Eno-Edobor.
According
to the court, their remand was to allow the police conclude its investigation
and file proper charges against them.
But
ruling on the two separate bail applications filed by the applicants on Friday,
Chief Magistrate Botoku found merits on the applications, saying it was within
the jurisdiction of the court to admit the defendants to bail
Botoku
held that there was nothing to show from the prosecution that the defendants
would not attain trial or interfere in police investigation.
The
court also ruled that it had jurisdiction to entertain the bail application,
adding that bail was at the discretion of the court, which should take
cognisance of the ability of the applicant to attend trial and the criminal
records of the applicants.
The
Chief Magistrate however dismissed the applicants’ applications seeking to set
aside the remand order, saying the order was legal, and in accordance to the
law since the police had the constitutional rights to invite and investigate
any allegations without prior knowledge of the person.
In
admitting the applicants to bail, the court noted that Nyong was a law-abiding
citizen without criminal antecedents.
“He
is also a managing director of a firm, with about 8,000 employees, who is ready
to attend trial and his disposition to an affidavit that he will not interfere
with investigation has not been controverted or challenged by the prosecution.
The
most important consideration in admittance to bail, the court noted is the
attendance of trial, of which the prosecution has no evidence to contradict,”
the court added.
Further
hearing on the matter has been adjourned till April 12.
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