A middle Aged woman, Mrs Maryanne Mgbeahuruba, has petitioned the Lagos State Chief Judge, Justice Kazeem Alogba, pleading that a criminal charge case against her enstranged husband, Samuel Ifeanyichukwu Mgbeahuruba, over domestic violence, should be reassigned from a Yaba Chief Magistrate 1, in Court 3, Mrs Balogun L .Y ,who she accused of displacing her from her property .
Maryanne, who said that she was no longer comfortable with the trial Magistrate, vehemently protested the consent judgement delivered by Magistrate Balogun on December 20, 2023, which apportioned part of her building to her estranged husband, which she said was not part of the Inspector General of Police Criminal Charge against her estranged husband.
She told the Chief Judge that she has appealed against the Magistrate’s ruling, pleading that the case files be reassigned to another Magistrate.
In her protest letter to Justice Kazeem Alogba, dated December 28, 2023, Maryanne ,told the Chief Judge that the consent Judgement was prejudiced against her interest, lacked her consent and was delivered without giving her fair hearing , which she noted was contrary to the provisions of the constitution of the Federal Republic Of Nigeria, 1993
Besides denying her fair hearing, Maryanne alleged that the Chief Magistrate breached the law by exceeding her jurisdiction when she delved into delivering the consent judgement with its “attendant prejudice”
Explaining her encounter with the Magistrate, she stated that while the criminal charge C/116/23 was still ongoing, the Magistrate demanded to see parties over the said charge and that she was “flabbergasted when the Magistrate abandoned the said charge and entered into consent judgement without hearing her, instead delve into a property not part of the charge or in a dispute before any court of law till date, thereby divested her from the said property “
Therefore, being dissatisfied with the consent judgement and the interference of her said property located at 19, Olatunji Idowu Street, Off Ago Palace Way Okota Isolo Lagos State, by the Magistrate, she appealed against the judgement, filed stay of execution of the judgement pending the determination of her said appeal number YB/25/23, because she did not make any input, did not concede, consent, was not allowed to be heard and was not represented by her Lawyer.
Maryanne, also begged the Chief Judge, asking that Magistrate Balogun to recuse herself from the pending criminal charge before her, so as to pave way for fair hearing of both the appeal and the substantive criminal charge in the overall interest of Justice and to save her life from further domestic violence always visited on her by the said husband
