The Lagos State Police command has stated that the arraignment date for singer Naira Marley and former governorship aspirant in Lagos State, Babatunde Gbadamosi and his wife has not been fixed yet.
Naira Marley and the Gbadamosi voluntarily reported themselves to the State Criminal Investigation Department (SCID) on Monday after being invited for their alleged violation of the Infectious Disease Regulation of Lagos state. This violation occurred when they attended the birthday party organized by actress Funke Akindele and her husband, JJCSkillz over the weekend.
Funk and her husband were arraigned before the Ogba Magistrate court on Monday April 6th for flouting the social distancing order of the state government. They received a sentence of 14 days community service and were fined N200,000. Additionally, they were ordered to go into 14 days of isolation immediately to determine their COVID-19 status.
Bala Elkana, the spokesperson of the police command, confirmed the delay in the arraignment of Naira Marley and the Gbadamosi, explaining that no court would be open in the state due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
“I don’t know who proposed today. They will be arraigned, but no court is sitting today. Courts don’t sit today. They have days they sit now because of this Coronavirus. They sat yesterday (Monday), the next sitting will be tomorrow (Wednesday).” he told The Nation
An official of the Ministry of Justice, speaking on condition of anonymity, disclosed that some Magistrate Courts in the state only sit on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays between 10 am and 1 pm, following a March 30 directive from the Chief Judge, Justice Kazeem Alogba, due to the COVID-19-induced lockdown. The proposed arraignment of Naira Marley and the Gbadamosi is anticipated to take place on Wednesday, April 8.