DISMISSED MAGISTRATE TO FACE PROSECUTION SOON?

Mr. Wilberforce Meigbope, formerly Senior Magistrate with the Lagos State Judiciary is today a sad, broken man.
A few weeks, the man could be described as an imperial magistrate, who was n all-in-all in his rather humble post the magistrate court in Isolo, Lagos.
The judicial emperor’s reign however came to a sudden and rude stop on Thursday 28th April 2011 when a small delegation led by Mr. T.A Elias Deputy Chief Registrar (Admin) paid his highness a visit.
According to geckos, Emperor Meigbope was already holding court when the Elias team arrived.
He quickly rose to receive the team in his office. The leader of the team gently handled over a letter to Meigbope. Some of our invisible geckos resident in every magistrate and judge’s chambers, almost fell off their perch when the “bomb” hit Meigbope.
According to the geckos, Meigbope exclaimed and shouted when his eyes confronted the contents of the letter. He raised his hands up in shock and fell off his chair, much to the bewilderment of his visitor, who encouraged him to take his fate like a man. Geckos saw the emperor breaking out in hot sweat, held his head in his hands and valiantly struggled to keep back tears from badly reddened eyes.
Thereafter Mr. Elias took his leave but not before instructing the registrar of the court to adjourn all pending matters.
The news of the dismissal of the “Alaseju” magistrate soon floated out. Some stunned and bemused lawyers in court now went in to pay ex-magistrate condolence visits.
However going by the information reaching us from ever trusty geckos, the dismissal of Meigbope from office is not the end of the story. Plans are said to be afoot by the authorities to ensure his arrest and prosecution for alleged acts of demanding and receiving bribes when he was in office.
The action is said not to be targeted at Meigbope alone but his alleged co-extortioners and bribe takers in the court, to wit the court registrar, the prosecutor and some lawyers who acted as go betweens and bribe-brokers.
If the plan succeeds, observers say that it will deter other corrupt magistrates and their court staff from continuing in the despicable act of bribe taking.

LAGOS SACKS NOTORIOUS MAGISTRATE

Thursday, the 28^th April 2011 is a day, Mr. Wilberforce Meigbope, formerly of the magistrate court 3 Isolo will never forget in his life.

It was a day that he was forced down his exalted office of magistrate and booted out of the employ of the Lagos State Judicial service.

His dismissal, critics say, so richly deserving, came late. According to our sources, the fallen magistrate who in the last five years at least had no less than forty-eight petitions against him before his employer.

Well known, feared and held in contempt by many lawyers who had practiced before him, Meigbope became a law unto himself. Brash, rude, queer, ignorant, pompous and out rightly abusive to lawyers and litigants in court, he over-stepped his bounds about two years ago, when he rushed out of his court room at the Botanical Gardens Magistrate Court, Ebute Metta to confront some policemen who were taking away a suspect. That move proved costly for Meigbope as the policemen descended on him, beating him to near stupor.

From Ebute-Metta, Senior Magistrate W.A.O Meigbope was transferred to Isolo, with his reputation for being very corrupt intact. He was known as a magistrate who collected bribes for granting and approving bail to accused persons brought before him.

Our investigations reveal that one usual method of ensuring that accused persons or their relatives pay bribes by Meigbope was to hand down stiff or impossible conditions upon the granting of bail.

If for example a man is accused of stealing money or chattels of a plastic company, Meigbope would demand that one of the sureties of the accused must be a manger in the very company or a senior staff of another plastic company! Please see the case of MM/C/67/10 COP vs HILARY OKEY & 9 ORS OF 27/10/2010 (date of arraignment) in the Meigbope court.

And if a person is charged with visa fraud or forgery, Meigbope would demand that one of the accused person’s sureties must be a “commander in the immigration service”! (Please see the case of MM/C/32/2011 COP vs OBINNA OKOR (M) OF 12/4/2011 (date of arraignment). Of course faced with the terrible bail conditions, the affected persons and their relatives often played ball. As soon as the bribes demanded for and negotitated upon via middle men were paid, the bails met Meigbope’s approval.

By the time, the very last petition (of Prince Tunji Adejare a legal practitioner, wrongly and heedlessly labeled and arrested at the Magistrate court Isolo by the police upon the orders of Meigbope as a quack lawyer) reached the authorities, Meigbope’s days in the Judiciary became numbered.

In reaction to the strongly worded petition (please see cover Story Exhibit), the Lagos State Judicial Service Commission summoned Meigbope to appear before a Disciplinary Panel.

The petitioner also gave his testimony before the panel likewise Adesina Ogunlana, in his capacity as General Secretary NBA Ikeja branch. Two members of the Public Training and Complaints Committee of the Lagos State Judiciary told the Squib that in the last six years, petitions against Meigbope were always coming up at every sitting of the PCTC.

As the news of the sack of the notorious magistrate spread, the reaction of people was “good

LAGOS SACKS NOTORIOUS MAGISTRATE

Thursday, the 28^th April 2011 is a day, Mr. Wilberforce Meigbope, formerly of the magistrate court 3 Isolo will never forget in his life.

It was a day that he was forced out of his exalted office of magistrate and booted out of the employ of the Lagos State Judicial Service.

His dismissal, critics say, so richly deserving, came late. According to our sources, the fallen magistrate who in the last five years at least had no less than forty-eight petitions against his before his employer.

Well known, feared and held in contempt by many lawyers who had practiced before him, Meigbope became a law unto himself. Brash, rude, queer, ignorant, pompous and outrightly abusive to lawyers and litigants in court, he over-stepped his bounds about two years ago, when he rushed out of his court room at the Botanical Gardens Magistrate Court, Ebute Metta to confront some policemen who were taking away a suspect. That move proved costly for Meigbope as the policemen descended on him, beating W.A.O Meigbope was transferred to Isolo, with his reputation for being very corrupt intact. He was known as a magistrate who collected bribes for granting and approving bail to accused persons brought before him.

Our investigations reveal that one usual method of ensuring that accused persons or their relatives pay bribes by handing down stiff or impossible conditions upon the granting of bail.

If for example a man is accused of stealing money or chattels of a plastic company, Meigbope would demand that one of the sureties of the accused must be a manager in the very company or senior staff of another plastic company! Please see the case of MM/C/67/10 COP vs HILARY OKEY & 9 ORS OF 27/10/2010 (date of arraignment) in the Meigbope court.

And if a person is charged with visa fraud or forgery, Meigbope would demand that one of the accused person’s sureties must be a “commander in the immigration service!” (Please see the case of MM/C/32/2011 COP vs OBINNA OKOR (M) OF 12/4/2011 (date of arraignment). Of course faced with the terrible bail conditions, the affected persons and their relatives often played ball. As soon as bribes demanded for and negotatiated upon via middle men were paid, the bails met Meigbope’s approval.

By the time, the very last petition (of Prince Tunji Adejare a legal practitioner, wrongly and heedlessly labeled and arrested at the4 magistrate court Isolo by the police upon the orders of Meigbope as a quack lawyer) reached the authorities, Meigbope’s days in the judiciary became numbered.

In reaction to the strongly worded petition(please see Cover Story Exhibit), the Lagos State Judicial Service Commission summoned Meigbope to appear before a Disciplinary Panel.

The petitioner also gave his testimony before the panel like Adesina Ogunlana, in his capacity as General Secretary NBA Ikeja branch. Two members of the Public Training and Complaints Committee of the Lagos State Judiciary told the Squib that in the last six years, petitions against Meigbope were always coming up at every sitting of the PCTC.

As the news of the sack of the notorious magistrate spread, the reaction of people was “good riddance to bad rubbish.”