The Ondo State Commissioner for Women Affairs, Seun Osamaye, has been placed under arrest and detained by an Akure Magistrate’s Court due to an alleged attack on Chief Magistrate Temitope Alphonso.
The incident allegedly happened on the Ondo State Ministry of Women Affairs’ property while the magistrate was on official business.
The News Agency of Nigeria reports that the police accused Osamaye of “assault,” citing verbal and physical abuse in court filings after the commissioner allegedly rendered an unfavorable decision.
Osamaye was not present in court on Wednesday, but her attorney, A.K. Adewusi, told the judge that she was undergoing treatment at a hospital in the state’s Ilara-Mokin, Ifedore Local Government Area.
The presiding magistrate allowed the attorney’s request for a ninety-minute standdown so that he could provide a medical report.
Adewusi submitted a hospital report upon the commissioner’s return, stating that he was receiving medical attention.
The prosecution, under the direction of Suleiman Adebayo, contested the validity of the medical record.
Magistrate Damilola Sekoni dismissed the report in his ruling, claiming it was devoid of important details.
“There was no indication in the report that the commissioner was hospitalized or medically unfit to appear in court,” Sekoni decided.
He added that the paper was deemed insufficient because it did not provide the time and date of the purported medical admission.
Magistrate Sekoni ordered the commissioner’s immediate arrest and custody in a jail facility, citing disdain for court proceedings.
After that, the case was postponed for a second hearing until January 12.
