Women Cries Out For Help As Son Wrongly Sentenced To Death

An Ibadan-based petty trader, Idayat Mukaila is present in the middle of a dilemma as she presently running from pillar to post in order to save the life of her son, Monsuru Mukaila.

Monsuru, who is a transporter and his motor boy, Abdulahi, according to the woman, were on 20th May, 2020, sentenced to death by Justice P.F Oduniyi of Abeokuta High Court, Ogun State, over conspiracy and armed robbery case.

Narrating her ordeal to trendscopenews, Mrs. Idayat Mukaila said her son's travails started sometimes in January 2017, when a man known as Saheed Ishola Omoebi contacted him to help transport some irons to another location.

Saheed Ishola Omoebi's call to Monsuru was said to have come in around 8pm on the fateful day, but when Monsuru inquired why the job has to be done at that late hours, Saheed made him understands the fact that they had to do it by that time in order to beat road safety who could made it difficult for them during the day.

In order for the job to be easier, Monsuru, it was gathered, had to call his motor boy, Abdulahi Ogundijo, who normally work with him. Monsuru has a six-wheel lorry which he uses for his transportation business.

It was while packing the irons into the lorry however, that some Special Anti Robbery Squad (SARS) personnel stormed the scene, and started shooting.

While Saheed, the man in the middle of the whole thing and his brother fled the scene, Monsuru and his motor boy, apparently confused about what was going on, stayed back and were arrested by SARS. They were said to have been taken to the station and detained at Mowe area of Ogun State, where the incident occurred.

"The following day, I got a call from my son's wife that he has been detained at Mowe police station."

On getting to the station however, Mrs. Idayat Mukaila alleged that she was asked to bring #500,000 before her son could be released. She also revealed further that Saheed, the main subject of the crime, who was arrested the third day after the incident, was later set free after paying a sum #500,000 to the IPO in charge of the case, and never appeared in court.

But Monsuru and his boy, the supposed accomplices in the matter, were not so lucky as they couldn't raise the amount request. They were later charged to court.

"Since then we have been going in and out of court until the final judgement was delivered on Wednesday 20 May, 2020."

Monsuru and Abdulahi have been sentenced to death. Even when no weapon or ammunition were found at the crime scene, and the said iron they were accused of stealing didn't leave the site.

The owner has even used her irons to construct a school, according to Madam Idayat. Not even testimony of the first investigative officer at Mowe Police station who accessed the scene crime could save Monsuru and his boy. Despite his admittance during cross examination that he went to the crime scene, and that there was no gun or any ammunition recovered from the crime scene.

He said nothing of such was also transferred to the State C.I.D Eleweran, Abeokuta as exhibits. Which is in contrary to ASP Abanikanda's claims that cutlass, axe and rope were recovered at the scene. It was alleged that the so called exhibits referring to Abanikanda were recovered from the scene by the victims of the armed robbery, seven days after.

What is also pathetic about Mrs. Idayat Mukaila's story is that apart from the wrong sentence been handed to her son, she has several other emotional issues to deal with. The son's wife who she claimed to have given money twice to hire a lawyer didn't contracted any. She has since gone ahead to marry her estranged husband's best friend.

Though an appeal, challenging the unpalatable judgement, has been filled at the Ibadan Appeal Court. But the bottom line is that, Madam Idayat is exhausted financially and may no longer be able to pursue the case, hence her coming to the general public to seek help.She is a sachet water seller, and been sourcing for fund through loans from a micro finance bank.

According to her, she had four boys but only Monsuru left. She said the father also died when Monsuru, who is now 40, was eight months, eleven days. So she is been taken care of the children all alone.

Though an appeal, challenging the unpalatable judgement, has been filled at the Ibadan Appeal Court. But the bottom line is that, Madam Idayat is exhausted financially and may no longer be able to pursue the case, hence her coming to the general public to seek help. She is a sachet water seller, and been sourcing for fund through loans from a micro finance bank.

According to her, she had four boys but only Monsuru is left. She said his father also died when Monsuru, who is now 40, was eight months, eleven days, so she is been taken care of the children all alone.

 

Ajimobi, Makinde And The Beauty Of ‘Intellectual Prudence’

By Remi Ladigbolu

Since the first time I saw a Twitter user apply the term, ‘intellectual prudence’, to describe one of the actions of the Oyo State governor, Engr. Seyi Makinde, the phrase stuck with me and I immediately resolved to further explore the import of this phrase in relation to other actions of the governor.

However, I continued to put off this self-imposed task until the night of June 25, when I read the condolence message of Makinde to the family of his predecessor, Senator Abiola Ajimobi, over the sad incident of the latter’s death from COVID-19 related complications.

Before I proceed, I will also like to extend my sincere condolences to the Ajimobi family, friends and supporters, and indeed the government and people of Oyo State over the death of the former governor, a charismatic and visionary leader and a politician who made history as the first two-term governor of the state.

Back to where we were (apology to Vice President Yemi Osinbajo), the tone and content of Makinde’s condolence message also appeared to carry a shade of this so-called intellectual prudence. There is a common template for such letters by political leaders and the words they carry are pretty much predictable. But Makinde’s letter was slightly different. It sounded sincere and completely devoid of any political undertone.

First, let us examine the meaning of the word, prudence. According to St. Thomas Aquinas, prudence simply means “intelligence in action”. However, the Catholic dictionary takes it further by describing prudence as an “act of virtue” that involves the following three mental operations: “To take counsel carefully with oneself and from others; to judge correctly on the basis of the evidence at hand; and to direct the rest of one’s activity according to the norms determined after a prudent judgment has been made.”

Put in another way, prudence or intellectual prudence as the case may be, is an emotional state in which a person dispenses with actions or deeds that are in his own personal interest and embraces actions that are in the best interest of everyone. It is fully expressed when a leader especially predicates his actions on what is evidently right, at the expense of what he considers to be right, personally.

Now, I will give a few examples. On May 27, when Makinde inaugurated the Anwar-ul-Islam Basic School, Ipapo in Itesiwaju Local Government Area, he did not only acknowledge the fact that the model school was a brainchild of the Ajimobi administration. He specifically noted that it was one of 22 model schools started by his predecessor, which his own administration had the privilege of completing.

Makinde did not just stop at giving credit to the ex-governor, whose party he defeated at the polls, he also stated categorically that it was the priority of his government to complete all outstanding projects started by his predecessor.

Similarly, on May 29, at the inauguration of the rehabilitated Eleyele Dam, a project that is of unmatched importance to Ibadan residents, given the painful history of flooding in the historical city, Makinde had the following to say: “This afternoon, I commissioned the Eleyele Dam Rehabilitation project. I restated that the Ibadan Urban Flood Management Project initiated by the previous admin was a courageous and bold move to ensure that we do not live the history of the floods of 26th August, 2011 again.”

It was this preceding statement that the Twitter user, @amstrodema, who I referred to at the beginning of this article reacted to as follows: “The fact that you complete projects initiated by the past administration regardless of party differences is a sign of intellectual prudence. You give me goosebumps sometimes sha.”

Again, on June 18, when the governor inaugurated the expanded Security Control Room and City Watch facilities at the Oyo State Security Trust Fund Headquarters, Onireke, Ibadan, he also took time to explain that the project was done by Ajimobi and that all he (Makinde) did was to improve it to make the system more efficient, cost effective and sustainable.

Highlighting some of the improvements made to the system, the governor noted: “The entire system has been reconfigured so that we no longer need to pay internet access fees of N3.5 million/month. Also, we have acquired the license for the software for life so no longer need to run the trial version we met. This facility now wholly belongs to Oyo State.”

The governor further explained some of the enhanced functionalities of the system, including how it is now possible for residents who are in danger or distress to discreetly alert security agents at the touch of a button on their mobile. The technology also allows operatives to narrow down the location of the victim in real time. The rest of this is a story for another day.

One more thing that made a lasting impression on me was the following statement by Makinde at the same occasion: “For those familiar with my statements during my campaign trail, you’ll recall that I was going to scrap this entire architecture because it was like a white elephant. But I was convinced to give it another shot and today we have been rewarded with a functional centre.” This indeed is a classic demonstration of intellectual prudence.

Finally, back to the beginning, some of Makinde’s assertions in his condolence message to family of his late predecessor, Ajimobi, in my opinion firmly established his sincerity of purpose, high level of emotional intelligence and the possession of a high degree of intellectual prudence.

For me, the most striking part of that message is where Makinde, in a manner most uncharacteristic of politicians, said the following about the late Ajimobi: “Surely, he will be remembered for leaving a blueprint for some of the activities that our administration is now undertaking.”

What manner of politician openly acknowledges the inherent benefits of projects started by his main opponent and constantly restates his commitment to completing them all, even to point of admitting that he has adopted part of his developmental blueprint? It can only be a politician who puts the welfare of the people over and above politics in every regard.

One can therefore conclude that Adebayo Adelabu, the governorship candidate of Ajimobi’s All Progressives Congress, who lost to Makinde in last year’s election, was merely betraying his own lack of intellectual prudence, when he accused the governor of lacking adequate preparation for governance.

According to Adelabu, this was why Makinde had been busy completing and inaugurating projects started by his predecessor instead of initiating his own set of projects. Adelabu was saying in essence that were he to be the one in Makinde’s shoes, he would have abandoned all the projects left uncompleted by Ajimobi, despite their obvious benefits to the people, and initiate new ones just to show the people that a new man is in charge.

By the same token, one may equally credit veteran politician and candidate of the African Democratic Congress in last year’s governorship election in Oyo State, Senator Olufemi Lanlehin, with the gift of prescience going by his account of how he turned down overtures made to him by Governor Kayode Fayemi of Ekiti State to support Adelabu against Makinde in the same election.

Hear him: “Despite ongoing Coalition talks at that time, I still gave audience to Governor Fayemi, a man for whom l have a great deal of respect, and who I’d had a wonderful relationship with, right from our days in NADECO. I respectfully turned down his passionate plea that I align with Bayo Adelabu and the APC.

“Despite my progressive roots, which Governor Fayemi alluded to in that meeting, l explained to him my reasons for turning him, and indeed Adelabu, down. The crux of our discussion, then, was that every politics is local, and that it was in the best interest of Oyo State at that time of its history, that I coalesced with Engr Seyi Makinde, and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), to win the gubernatorial election.

“I wish to conclude that despite the advertised failings of post-victory agreements, I sincerely do not have any regrets for being an active participant in the Coalition that brought in Engr Seyi Makinde, as it was honestly, the best decision, in those circumstances, and sincerely, in the interest of Oyo State.”

With the hindsight of Makinde’s sterling performances in the last one year, it was also likely the Oyo electorate were gifted with some sort of clairvoyance to have voted for Makinde so massively during the election.

Anyone familiar with the late Ajimobi, would readily attest to the fact that one of his most favourite statements was that government is a continuum and that it is not compulsory for any particular government to complete all the projects it started. He must have said this in the belief that his successor, just like himself, would feel duty bound to complete any such projects in the overall interest of the people.

For this reason, Ajimobi strongly desired for Adelabu to succeed him. But the omnipresent knew that Ajimobi, for all his efforts, needed a Makinde to build on his legacy. In the end, God did not only grant Ajimobi the unprecedented privilege of governing Oyo State for two successive terms, He also gave him a successor he truly, truly deserved.

Finally, inspite of the avoidable brouhaha over Ajimobi’s burial site, I am sure the former governor is truly resting in peace, knowing that the people of his beloved Oyo State are in good hands, and also knowing that his legacies are intact, and actually being built upon. What remains for Makinde to do is to appropriately immortalise the memory of this great man.

Ladigbolu is a journalist based in Lagos