Oh dear, God bless this magistrate. The arraignment of three teenage boys at a Chief Magistrate’s Court in Benin on Monday caused a mild drama in the court as the Chief Magistrate gave a sermon on forgiveness to a Reverend of a church.
The name of the three boys involved in the case who were between 15 and 17 years of age, were given as Goodluck Benson, Omoruyi Isaiah and Ediomwan Desmond. They were alleged to have stolen N11,500 and a Techno phone worth N4000 inside St. Paul Anglican Church, Ologbo village in Ikpoba-Okha Local Government Area of Edo State.
They however escaped death by the whiskers when a mob was said to have beaten then to pulp and placed tyres on their necks, but were fortunately rescued by the police.
The drama ensued when the boys were to be arraigned at the court on a four count charge of stealing and belonging to an unlawful secret cult called Blade.
One of the suspects, Benson, told Chief Magistrate Esohe Bazuaye told the court that he was 17 years old and not 19 as written by the police on the charge sheet.
The suspects informed the Magistrate that they were from broken homes and were not caught at the scene of the crime, saying that they confessed because the mob threatened to kill them.
Enraged by the revelation of the suspects, the Chief Magistrate, Mrs. Esohe Bazuaye, sought to know why the suspects were not taken to a juvenile court.
She then pleaded with the Pastor in charge of the church, Rev. Johnson Nwatamuojor, to forgive the suspects and rather join hands in rehabilitating them, adding that if sent to a remand home, the suspects would become more hardened.
“Has God not given you the assignment to win souls? We can turn the lives of these kids around by making them become something better in the future. No child is too difficult to be placed on the right path. As a man of God, the church can pay for their upkeep. Their present situation is not their fault, it is the parents’.
“Don’t give up on them. You have lots of sheep. These are part of the weak ones,” Chief Magistrate Bazuaye pleaded.
Rev. Johnson who alleged in his comment that the suspects have been rooted in anti-social activities, said he was happy that the suspects were arrested and that he could not stop the police from doing their job.
The suspects were later taken to a Juvenile Court where journalists were barred from covering proceedings.
PM News
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