Family Of Murder Victim Muda Balogun Cries For Justice In Court As Police Seek To Strike Out Case

• Three men allegedly killed Muda Balogun on September 2022, and for the family members, wife, and children of the deceased, it has been a nightmarish and traumatic experience.

• The Lagos government has charged the suspects with five counts of felonies, including murder.

• But the victim’s family has alleged that the police are conniving with the suspects to cover up the murder case.

Eko Hot Blog reports that the family members of Muda Balogun, a murder victim, attended the arraignment of his alleged killers on Monday.

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Balogun, 40, was allegedly killed by three men in September 2022.

The suspected murderers and the deceased were co-workers of the Road Transport Employers Association of Nigeria (RTEAN), and they allegedly shot him to death during an argument.

The suspects were first arraigned at the Igbosere Magistrates’ Court 18, sitting in Tinubu Court 1 on December 12, 2022.

Prosecutors charged the accused persons with a five-count offense bordering on conspiracy, unlawful display of arms in public, willful damage, grievous harm, and murder. (Section 411 of Lagos State Criminal Code Law depicts life imprisonment if the murder was committed with arms and found guilty by the court of law.)

The suspects are Mr. Kazeem Jinadu, 50; Maaru Amisu,36; and Oluwatobi Ajao,48, all residents of the Oko-Afo community in Ojo Local Government of Lagos.

The magistrate remanded the three alleged murderers after the first hearing and adjourned until February 2.

However, on February 2, when the case was mentioned, the police officers from Zone two had brought an application and asked that the case be struck out of court.

The Magistrate presiding on the matter rejected the plea and told them that she had no power to strike out a matter already in the Director of Public Prosecution (DPP) office.

Earlier, the watching brief counsel, Mr. Mubashir Babatunde-Oshodi, urged the Magistrate to disregard the letter and the application to withdraw charges as it is aimed at perverting justice.

Oshodi argued that it was an obstruction to the Administration of Criminal Justice Law of Lagos State.

On Monday, February 13, 2023, the suspects were back in court.

However, the Magistrate of the court, Mrs. K.K. Awoyinka, remanded the suspects for another 20 days in prison.

She adjourned the case till March 3 and is awaiting advice from the DPP’s office about how to proceed with the matter.

Meanwhile, the wife, children, and other family members of the victim were seen crying profusely on the court premises on Monday, noting that the suspects killed their son, father, and breadwinner.

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They went further to accuse the police officers in charge of the case of wanting to cover up the matter.

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