Residents of Otassona Estate, Oniru have accused Muiz Banire (SAN), the lawyer representing Segun Oniru in their ongoing case of intimidating the trial judge.
Recalling details of the ongoing trial, the residents stated “Segun’s lawyer is Muiz Banire, they went to court last week.
“It was adjourned to yesterday because they brought somebody who claimed to have sold the estate to him. All of a sudden, there is somebody who they now claim the estate where people live in has been sold to. That was last week.
“Anyway, yesterday was perhaps more dramatic than what happened today. Yesterday, the court is informed by Muiz Banire that nobody lives here. That nobody lives in this estate. That we must have moved in after the gates were locked.
“He files a case that he wants to hold us, he files a motion that he wants to hold us in contempt, which is absolute nonsense. In addition to that filing, he also said somebody that Segun knew had sold the estate to somebody else. That person claims there’s nobody in the estate, that the estate is empty. That person is represented by Olumide Fusika, SAN.”
Alleged Intimidation
The residents noted it was quite clear the trial judge was being intimidated by the lawyer
“Whilst the case was going on yesterday, it was clear that the judge was being deliberately intimidated. To the point where the judge said, “I am not going to be making any judgment on this substantive case because I don’t even know how this was received. However, what I am here to do is to judge on the opening of this gate on humanitarian grounds,” and the baby was also included.
“Anyway, the judge, out of intimidation—and this you can call conjecture, but you’ve got to be there to know it and you can speak to my other neighbours, she then adjourns it till today. She was supposed to have made the judgment.
“Oh, by the way, the judge is Mrs. Sherifat Shonaike. That’s the judge. She then adjourns it till today. She said 12 o’clock today then, Muiz Banire, says he can’t come at 12 o’clock today because he’s outside of the neighbourhood or he’s got something to do. So, she moves it to 2 o’clock.
“We go to court, He doesn’t turn up. Neither does Segun turn up. No lawyer from his chambers turns up.
“The only person that was there was Olumide Fushika, who claims he’s come to represent his client, who apparently bought an estate where people have been living in for three decades.”
“The judge then said ‘I have been recused.’
“They wrote to her. Yesterday, Muiz Banire basically said it appeared that she had taken sides just because she was asking personal questions.
“And then, but they had written to her, asking her to recuse herself. Demanding, not asking, demanding that she recuse herself from this case.
“Conclusion is we got to court and she said, for the sake of her own integrity, she was recusing herself.
“Nobody has told any one of us, what we did wrong to warrant being treated in this manner, like animals, basically, with no respect for our rights as humans.
“This is psychological thuggery. This is primitive thuggery. This is bullying, this is intimidation, this is illegal. This is totally unacceptable. Absolutely not.”
