Justice Hakeem Oshodi of a Lagos State High Court Ikeja, yesterday, dismissed a post-conviction bail application filed by convicted dethroned Baale (Monarch) of Shangisha in the Magodo area of the state, Mutiu Ogundare and his brother, Opeyemi Mohammed.

The court dismissed their application for lacking merit.

Consequently, the convicts are to remain in custody pending the determination of their appeals.

Justice Oshodi in a ruling held that the applicants did not satisfy the special conditions to grant post-conviction bail pending appeal.

He further held that where an applicant raised the issue of the exercise of court discretion, the applicant must prove the exceptional condition under which his request could be granted.

The judge, who cited a plethora of decided cases, noted: “The issue of the innocence of the applicant no longer exists. The issue has been well settled. Unless there are exceptional grounds in dealing with the later ground of the case.

“There is a proposition that fake kidnapping is not known to law but the applicant was charged with false kidnapping, which is a felony.

“The deponent stated that the notice of appeal was filed, but there was no receipt or document to show that the appeal is pending. The exceptional condition has not been met. The application is hereby dismissed.”

Ogundare and Mohammed had filed an application for post-conviction bail before the court pending the hearing and determination of their appeal at the Court of Appeal.

The applicants, the monarch and his brother were sentenced sometime in September 2022 to 15 years imprisonment for faking the monarch’s kidnap.

The convict was first remanded on July 16, 2017, by an Ogba magistrate’s court, Ikeja, for faking his kidnap. Mutiu was tried alongside his wife, Abolanle, and brother, Mohammed.

They were arraigned on a three-count charge bordering on conspiracy, breach of peace and fake kidnapping.

The court had on June 15 discharged and acquitted Abolanle, saying she had no link to the offences.

The first convict’s counsel, Olarewaju Ajanaku, who represented his lawyer, Dr. Muniz Banire, in his allocation, begged the court to temper justice with mercy. (The Guardian)

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