Kunle Adelabu
-Says Onamade should be ready to face other judgments
The former Chairman of Ijede Local Council Development Area (LCDA), Hon. Salisu Fathiu Jimoh, has stated that truth has prevailed in the fundamental human rights case instituted against him and others by Mr Oluwatosin Onamade, the Chief Executive Officer of the Western Funeral Home Limited and former aspirant for the Ijede Local Council Development Area (LCDA) Chairmanship seat.
Hon Fathiu made this assertion while welcoming the judgment of the Ikorodu Judicial Division of the Lagos High Court delivered on Friday, March 17, 2022.
Mr Onamade, had in 2021, instituted a fundamental human right case against the Deputy Inspector General of Police (Force intelligence Bureau, Area 10, Garki, Abuja), DCP Eloho Okpsoziakpo (Force intelligence Bureau, Area 10, Garki, Abuja), ASP Abubarkar inwanfero (I.P.O, Force intelligence Bureau, Area 10, Garki, Abuja) and Fathiu Jimoh Salisu, former Chairman, Ijede LCDA.
The Applicant had sought the prayer of the court against the defendants from harassing and arresting him, but Honourable Justice A.F. Pokanu, delivering his judgment, dismissed all his prayers.
Unfortunately, Mr Onamade and his lawyers were not in court for the judgment.
Addressing journalists within the High Court premises, one of the Respondents. Hon. Fathiu, said that the truth has prevailed while commending the judiciary for being up and doing.
“My own is that the truth must prevail. Falsehood can only be timed but can never last long. Yoruba says that, “Ti iro ba lo fun ogun odun, ojo kan so so ni otito m’aba”, Hon. Fathiu said.
“Regarding the judgment, I will say that I don’t even expect anything short of what we have witnessed today, because I know that our judiciary is up and doing and that they know what they are doing.
“If you look at the rules and the decided cases that the judge cited, you will see that everything is in line. The judge said nothing but the truth and I know that the truth must prevail”, he added.
Hon. Fathiu also said that the judgment in the fundamental human rights case instituted by Onamade and which the court has ruled in his and other Respondents’ favour, is a pointer to how other cases would be decided.
He alleged that the Applicant (Mr Onamade) lied against him because he wanted to become the chairman of a council, adding that he should prepare to face the law.
“This is not the only case (between Onamade and l), another one is still at the Federal High Court, Ikoyi, and I know that the judgment will still go the same way as this one”, Hon. Fathiu said.
“How can someone decided to tell lies against me, decided to run me down, ruin my political career, just because he was aspiring for a chairmanship position? God Almighty will judge. He has even started judging. This is just one of two or three other cases.
“Onamade should prepare to face the wrath of the law of the land for deciding to tell lies because he wanted to become the chairman of a local council and not even the governor of a state”, the former Ijede Council Chairman declared.
He also said that Onamde and his lawyers may have decided not to come to court because they already knew what the judgment would be.
Fathiu, said that he has accepted his faith for not being able to recontest for re-election due to the murder allegations against him which he denied.
“You don’t need to pull someone down because you want to climb up. It’s not done. I have accepted my faith. Alhamdulilahi, I am an Imam and a Muslim. I was supposed to return for the second term, but here I am. “Que sera sera” (what will be will be).
“Where I am going to get to, no one on earth can block me, and where I won’t get to, no one on earth can take me there. Everything depends on God Almighty.
“I want to advise Onamade to stop telling lies”, he said.
Barr. Oluwaseun Onabolu of the Kunle Adegoke & co, who appeared for 1st, second and third respondents, said that the Defense team saw the judgment coming and that the matter ought not to have been brought before the court in the first instance.
“It is good to see all the work that you have put in become fruitful at the end of the day. If you can recall, we were so certain that the applicant does not have a case. It was a frivolous (application)”, the Respondents’ lawyer said.
“We saw it coming that the judgment was definitely going to be delivered in favour of the respondents and I am happy that the court duly considered the processes before it and arrived at a sound judgment.
“It carefully considered all the issues that parties had brought before the court and arrived at a conclusion on each of those issues.
“If you will recall, the judge refused all of the relieves sought by the Applicant. It only goes to show that the application was frivolous and ought not to have been brought before the court in the first instance”, Barr. Onabolu.
“Basically, what the Applicant was trying to do is stop the police from doing their lawful duty and as well as harass and drag the name of the Hon. Fathiu, the fourth respondent, in the mud which, at least by the judgment of the court, will serves as a note of warning to those who are fond of rushing to court to stop police from carrying out due investigation or using the court process to harass their fellow contenders.
When asked about his position on the possibility of the Applicant appealing against the judgment, Barr. Onabolu said:
“A party has a right of appeal. It is a constitutional right of any party to appeal if he believes that the judge did not consider what he ought to have considered or wrongly considered things that he ought not to have considered, so they have the right of appeal”, he said.
“I may be talking with a bit of sentiment but objectively looking at the processes filed and to the best of my knowledge, that appeal is bound to fail”, he said assuringly.
When our reporter called Mr Oluwatosin Onamade, the Applicant who was absent in court on Friday to hear his view on the judgment, he said that he will call our reporter back after speaking with his lawyer but he did not.
On Saturday, March 19, there was also no response from him, which made THE IMPACT send him a message on his WhatsApp, reminding him of his response, after which he called to engage our reporter, accusing us of bias and focusing on the civil matter instead of the criminal one. Accusations that our reporter denied.
He was also sent chats to comment on, but nothing has been heard from him on the said judgment, as at the time of filing this report.
The fundamental human rights case is one of the three or four cases emanating from the murder of one Mr Ifeanyi Godfrey Etunmuse, a staff of the Western Funeral Home Limited, Ijede in which the former Chairman, Ijede LCDA, Hon. Fathiu accused of masterminding through a petition by Mr Oluwatosin Onamade.
There is also another matter at the Federal High Court, Ikoyi, before the Honourable Justice Hon. Justice A.O. Faji, which was instituted by the Inspector – General of Police (IGP) against Onamde.
In the matter, the IGP alleged that the Defendant to have committed offenses punishable under sections 24 and section 24 (2) (a) of the Cybercrimes Act, 2015.
The criminal aspect of the matter was at the Chief Magistrate Court, Yaba, where four suspects in the murder of Godfrey are appearing.
