Senate leader, Senator Teslim Folarin and three others who were remanded at Agodi Prisons, Ibadan in connection with the killing of the former factional chairman, National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW) Alhaji Lateef Eleweomo a.k.a. Eleweomo have been released by an Ibadan Magistrate Court.
Their release was effected as a result of the withdrawal of the two-count charge of conspiracy and killing of Eleweomo, by the Oyo State Police Command. Other three accused persons, Ramoni Jayeola Bankole, Olaide Raji and Raimi Ismaila, were detained with the senator.
In their last trial, the court presided over by Chief Magistrate, Mrs. Fatima Badrudeen, adjourned to 14th January, 2011.
At yesterday’s sitting, a seven-paragraph affidavit deposed to by the Oyo State Commissioner of Police, Mr. Baba Adisa Bolanta was sent with the application.
Chief Adeniyi Akintola, SAN, and a team of other counsel stood in for Senator Folarin. As soon as the court proceeding started, the prosecuting police officer, Matthew Ojeh brought an application to change the date of adjournment earlier fixed for today to yesterday.
Since Akintola did not raise any objection to the application. He said, “I have gone through the motion paper. I won’t be opposing the application.
In line with paragraph 3 and 4 of the application, I urge the court to strike out the case and release the accused persons since there is nothing to predicate their continued detention on.”
Having granted the application for abridging the date, granted it and the case was stood down by the Chief Magistrate after she had ordered that the accused persons be brought to the court.
Chief Akintola vehemently opposed a move to change the prosecutor of the case when the Director of Public Prosecution, DPP, H.F. Sule announced his appearance before the court.
The counsel said he remained an alien as far as the case was concerned. “He has no right of audience and he cannot be heard on this matter. The counsel to the police brought us here. The commissioner of police swore to an affidavit. If the state government wants political vendetta, no lawyer and no judge should allow such thing.”
“I risked being jailed in 2011 for calling Senator Folarin a murderer months after the Senate Leader was discharged and acquitted by the court of competent jurisdiction” Com. YSO Olaniyi, Former NANS Leader, Dec. 28, 2011.
At that juncture, the court upheld the right of Ojeh to continue with the prosecution of the case. Ojeh then said the State police boss directed him to appeal for the withdrawal of the charges and strike out the case so that the police could carry out further investigation. The court then ordered their release.
Meanwhile, thousands of Folarin’s loyalists had thronged the prisons as early as 8am daring threats by some gun-wielding security agents attached to the prisons.
The security men and prison officials had hectic time controlling the crowd. They had to change about four ambulance and Pick-Up vans to deceive the crowd so that they would not know the exact vehicle that would convey the senator out of the prisons custody.
On Tuesday, an Oyo State High Court, Justice Ladapo Abimbola, had adjourned the ruling on granting the accused persons bail to Monday 17th January, 2011
