There was a mild drama at the premises of a Magistrate Court in Enugu on Thursday as a state lawyer defending a female client, who has suffered battering and psychological torture from the husband, was arrested and sent to police.
Barr. Nkechinyere Aidenojie nee Aniebonam, Thursday lost her temper and ordered the arrest of her client, Mrs. Patience Amaka Ede who dared to photograph her with her husband, who she felt she was hobnobbing with the defendant, her husband, Evidence Nwachukwu.
NewsBits learnt that due to family bickering and crisis, Patience’s husband, Evidence, battered her so much that she lost a reportedly 5-month pregnancy which, they said, would have resulted in twins. Following the incident, Evidence was held in prison custody but was later released under unexplainable circumstances and ever since they have been going to court to resolve the issue.
However, on Thursday, the case took a sudden twist when Patience arrived at the court with her father, Patrick Ogenyi Ede and her defence lawyer, Barr. Aidenojie informed her for the fourth time that the court would not sit, and she was furious and told her counsel that she did not understand what was going on any longer. It was gathered that Patience became infuriated when her counsel told her to go and reconcile with her husband who, she claimed, was still in love with her, but she would not hear of it and flared up.
Her anger was provoked further when Patience later saw her lawyer in a hearty chat with her husband, Evidence and concluded that her defence counsel must have compromised and took their picture with her cell phone. But unknown to her, her lawyer saw her taking the picture and accosted her and called police who got her arrested.
Speaking at the Central Police Station, CPS, Enugu where she is detained, Patience acknowledged that she took the picture as an evidence to show the DPP that her lawyer was compromising. Subsequently, she apologized at the police station for her misdemeanor but the police and her counsel insisted that she must be detained or probably go to prison.
On her part, Barr. Aidenojie said her client whom she has suffered for insulted her when she saw her and her husband talking when she was only telling him when next their matter would come up. “The girl insulted me so much today when she saw me talking with her husband. Did she know what I was discussing with him and came and started taking my picture,” she explained why she turned the plaintiff to a defendant.
