Date: 2014-05-28

A popular Ilorin musician, Alhaji Ibrahim Labaika along with his wife, Zeenat have been remanded at the Federal Prison, Oke-Kura, Ilorin for alleged assault on a woman.

An Upper Area Court sitting in Ilorin remanded them in prison, having appeared before it on a four-count charge of criminal conspiracy, criminal force and assault, causing grievous hurt and criminal intimidation.

Trouble began for the accused when on May 21, 2014 one Miss. Aleem Suliyat of Art Education Department, University of Ilorin and a tenant of Labaika was washing  cloth in the house and Labaika’s first wife attacked her on the ground that she was not washing in a designated place.

Meanwhile, misunderstanding allegedly ensued between them and Labaika’s wife beat her up to the extent that she tore her (tenant) cloth.

After the fracas, Labaika’s wife was said to have called his husband and immediately he arrived with one Ahmed and four others yet unknown, they started beating the tenant, while her two phones, Gionee and Nokia 3700 note were collected by the accused.

According to a charge sheet before the court, the accused dragged the tenant on the floor and forcefully bundled her inside their Toyota Sequoia V8 jeep.

The charge sheet stated further that the accused brought back the tenant upon the intervention of neighbours who later rushed her to Anchor Medical Centre, Tanke, Ilorin, for treatment.

The charge sheet added that the accused have been threatening to further deal with the tenant whenever they sighted her.

The counsel to the victim, Barrister Ahmed Alawaye objected to the bail of the accused and urged the court to remand them in prison custody pending the determination of the case against them.

He submitted that if the accused was granted bail, he will commit same offence because he is having similar offence before Magistrate M.B. Magaji.

The defence counsel, Barrister Tunde Falomo prayed the court to admit the accused to bail pending the determination of the case. He argued that Section 35(6) of the 1999 Constitution of the Federation of Nigeria still presumed them innocent of the offences until contrary is proved.

The judge, Hon. Y.O. Abdulamid, who refused the oral application of the defence, ordered that the accused be remanded at the Federal Prison, Oke-Kura, Ilorin, until June 9 when the case would come up for hearing.