Savn Daniel@savndaniel
PANDEMONIUM IN COURTROOM
by S.A IDEMUDIA, ESQ.
Today, the 31st of March, 2026, we got to see firsthand the abuse of power and lack of human sympathy by the Nigerian Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) at the Federal High Court 1 in the Benin Judicial division.
Mrs Titilayo Akindele (the defendant) who was arrested for being in possession of N30,000 worth of Indian Hemp, had been in prison for over 3months and was refused bail, despite her ill health and inability to move well.
The previous day, which was Monday 30th of March 2026, the deceased who had complained countless times of being weak and her inability to breathe well was in court.
She was however taken back to prison custody, because she was unable to produce her medical report at that time, because the NDLEA brought her to court without it.
It is also very pertinent to state the fact that the lawyer who was representing Mrs Titilayo Akindele was an in-house counsel, chosen by the NDLEA.
During court proceedings on the 31st of March, 2026, Mrs Titilayo Akindele who had been denied bail several times, was brought into court looking half dead and was unable to move on her own, so she asked that she needed lay down, of which other litigants in court had to assist her to the back of the court room.
We never expected that it would be the last time anyone would be able to talk to her.
The Judge on the other hand, Hon. Justice Babatunde Quadri, refused to attend to her case first, even after seeing her condition in court.
He was more concerned with the judgement he needed to write and give.
NDLEA Officials kept hitting and slapping the woman, shouting at her to get up, not knowing that she was dead. One of the litigants tried to pull her hands up, but commented on how cold and stiff her hand was.
This did not even matter to the judge and NDLEA officials, because they were convinced that she was faking it.
After the Judge finished reading judgement, the lawyer representing the NDLEA, asked that the case be withdrawn.
However, it was too late, the woman was dead.
The Judge, Hon. Justice Babatunde Quadri went back into his chambers, still believing that the woman was pretending, so she could avoid dancing to the tone.
Litigants alongside her sister and son continued trying to get her up, till they realized that she was no longer breathing and that she was dead 30 minutes beforehand.
Unrest broke out and lawyers spoke up about how the lady was treated by the NDLEA and the court officials, who disregarded her cries for better medical attention, bail and access to better legal representation.
After the discovery, NDLEA Officials refused to remove her body from the courtroom, telling the lawyers to remove her themselves. This made lawyers really angry and decided to start making videos, while urging the officials to remove her body from the courtroom.
While lawyers were making videos, the NDLEA Officials were trying to snatch their phones from them.
They were however severely pounced on by lawyers who were angered by that act.
Due to the continuous pressure from Lawyers that witnessed the event, they tried to hurriedly escape and abandon her body at the court.
This made lawyers and the family of the woman more angry, as they jumped into the escape vehicle and stopped them forcibly.
The NDLEA Officials, who were heavily armed, threatened to shoot lawyers with their guns for trying to stop them from escaping.
The gates were locked to prevent them from driving out and they were surrounded by onlookers, witnesses and lawyers. Not too long, journalists trooped in to cover the event and interview witnesses and the family of the woman. About 2 hours after the immense pressure, her body was moved to the morgue by Central Hospital and her family.