Appeal Court saves 75-year-old man from jail
News & Trends •
apempe a popular printer and politician had reported one sunday akoe and his family members to the police for alleged theft of his yams and destroying the farm in the process1 the court of appeal in ado-ekiti on thursday overturned the one year imprisonment imposed on 75-year-old azeez apempe1 the magistrates court and the high court convicted apempe of the charge preferred against him by the police1 apempe reported about a case of theft on his farm1 justice ahmad belgore who delivered the judgment on behalf of the three-member appeal panel set aside the verdicts of the two lower courts1 belgore resolved all issues in favour of apempe and discharged and acquitted the septuagenarian1 he described the trial and conviction of apempe by the lower courts as a nullity1 apempe had challenged his conviction by a magistrates court which was affirmed by an ekiti high court for allegedly giving false information to the police1 he had in his statement of claim averred that the police turned him from being the complainant to an accused and charged him to court for giving false information1 the magistrates court in arriving at its judgment held that the appellants statement at the police station could not be found1 apempe was subsequently sentenced to a one-year imprisonment or n5000 option of fine which he paid1 he appealed to the high court which also affirmed the one-year imprisonment by the magistrates court1 at the court of appeal his counsel mr magnus ejelonu argued that the two lower courts erred in law by entering judgment against the septuagenarian1 ejelonu contended that his statement at the police station that was missing should be resolved in his favour1