By Dipo Awojobi -The trial of Yewande Oyediran, the Ibadan, Oyo State-based lawyer accused of stabbing her husband, Lowo Ajanaku Oyediran to death will now begin on June 23.
The Chief Judge of Oyo State, Justice Munta Ladipo fixed the date after clearing two issues that arose in the preliminary hearing of the case on Tuesday
One was on the family’s insistence of having a private lawyer to handle the prosecution of the alleged killer.
The other was on the validity of the murder charge itself.
Mr Tajudeen Abdulganiyu, the Director of Public Prosecutor, eased the way for the court when he informed the court that he was withdrawing from the matter because the state had appointed a private prosecutor, based on the wish of the family of the deceased.
Abdulganiyu said the defendant had worked with the Oyo State Ministry of Justice, adding that there were fears that the DPP may not properly prosecute the defendant because she was currently on its staff.
The judge therefore granted an application by Mr Yomi Aliyu, counsel watching brief for the family of the deceased for a private prosecutor to prosecute the matter.
The court also struck out the preliminary objection challenging the competence of the murder charge against the accused.
Oyediran, a staff of the Directorate of the Public Prosecution (DPP) in Oyo State Ministry of Justice, allegedly murdered her husband by stabbing him with a knife.
The female lawyer, a resident of Akobo Area of Ibadan, allegedly stabbed her husband on Feb. 2.
The defendant’s counsel, Mr Bioye Ashanike, had challenged the competence of the charge.
Ashanike argued that the procedure used in filing the murder charge against his client was not the one meant for the trial of a capital offence of murder.
The counsel had argued that the determination of the charge by the court would be a clear violation of the right of his client and urged the court to strike it out.
In his ruling, Justice Munta Ladipo Abimbola, struck out the preliminary objection, saying the charge of murder against the defendant was competent.
Abimbola said that the prosecutor had not violated any section of the constitution with the procedure taken in filing the charge against the defendant.
The judge said that the case of the defendant would not in any way be prejudiced by the manner the charge was filed, adding that there was sufficient proof of evidence attached to the charge.
He promised to give the case accelerated hearing, assuring that the court would do all its best to conclude the matter before the end of July.
Members of Women Arise for Change, an NGO led by its President, Dr Joe Okei-Odumakin, were at the court premises to demand that justice be done on the matter.
“Justice is the only means to lasting peace after an injustice.
“The best prescription for deterrence is to prevent recurrence by other intending perpetrators and that injustice to one is injustice to all.
“Justice has no gender, just as the crime committed had no gender,’’ she said.
To achieve lasting peace and ensure trust in the judicial system, she said justice must not only be done but must also be seen to have been done.
