Mr Emmanuel Nwankpa, presiding over a rape case at an Umuahia Magistrate’s Court, on Friday barred a journalist with a regional newspaper from coming to cover proceedings in his court.
Henrietta Ashikodi, the Abia Correspondent of the Statesman, an Imo government-owned newspaper, had gone to cover a case of the rape of a 13-year-old girl, Oluchi Nwaoseke, by her uncle, 45-year-old Okwubunka Nwaoseke.
Nwaoseke, a private school proprietor at Umumba Nsirimo in Umuahia South Local Government Area of Abia, is facing prosecution for allegedly defiling his niece at their residence in May.
Narrating her experience in court, Ashikodi said that the magistrate called her out in his court during the proceeding after she was identified as a journalist by a police orderly.
She said that Nwaoseke’s Counsel, Mr C.A Uwakwe, had drawn the magistrate’s attention to a report in a national newspaper, stating that the court “refused to grant bail” to the suspect.
Uwakwe further alleged that the Umumba community were claiming that they had compromised the magistrate and confident he would continue to deny the suspect bail.
According to Ashikodi, as this was going on, a police orderly in the court accosted her while she was taking jottings of the proceeding and asked if she is a journalist and she responded in the affirmative.
“At that point, the magistrate called me out and said I should go and sit near the Prosecution Counsel, Gloria Ekanam.
“When I got there, he asked about my name and where I work and I told him.
“He then started lambasting me, accusing me of writing malicious stories on the matter,” she said.
Ashikodi further said that the magistrate also took up the issue of compromise with the community leaders, who debunked the allegation.
They said that they had never met her outside the court and could not have compromised her.
“After that, he turned to me again and accused me of coming to cover the rape case in his court without his permission.
“He also alleged that I was paid by an interested party to the case and asked me what my interest in the case is,” Ashikodi said.
She said that in her response, she told the magistrate that she introduced herself to the court the first day the case came up.
“I also told him that as a journalist, I had the right to cover proceedings in any open court.
“He became furious and ordered me to walk out of his court, threatening that he could charge me for contempt.
“You think you can walk into my court to cover proceedings. Leave my court and don’t come here to cover me again.
“You can go and write that I walked you out of my court,” Ashikodi said.
The suspect was alleged to have committed an offence punishable under Section 218 of the Criminal Code, Cap. 80 Vol. 3 Laws of Abia 2005.
Meanwhile, the suspect pleaded not guilty to the one-count charge of having canal knowledge of the girl.
The court, however, ordered that he should continue to be remanded in the custody of Afara Correctional Centre, Umuahia.
The matter was later adjourned to September 4 for accelerated hearing.
