Lagos State Ministry of Justice

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Press Releases

PUBLIC NOTICE: LAGOS STATE GOVERNMENT’S REACTION TO THE PURPORTED EXECUTION OF JUDGMENT WITHIN MASHA AXIS IN THE SURULERE LOCAL GOVERNMENT AREA OF LAGOS STATE

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The attention of the Lagos State Government has been drawn to the purported execution of a Court Judgment within Masha axis in the Surulere  Local Government area of Lagos State in which some houses were marked for possession, thereby causing fear, and anxiety which may lead to breach of the peace. As a responsive government, it has become imperative to listen to the yearning of the people and take immediate and appropriate steps to ensure that the rights of the people are well protected. Members of the public are hereby notified that the Office of the Honourable Attorney  General is investigating the matter and will take necessary steps to protect the rights of the people of Lagos State. We therefore urge members of the public to remain calm and law abiding and maintain peace and order within the State while necessary steps are being taken in this regard.

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PRESS STATEMENT: PRESS STATEMENT IN RESPECT OF LATE WHITNEY ADENIRAN, (CHRISLAND STUDENT).

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On the 9th of February 2023, Whitney Omodesola Adeniran a Student of Chrisland High School, Ikeja aged 12 years, slumped during the Inter-house Sports organized by the School at the Agege Sports Stadium and was subsequently rushed to Agege Central Hospital, Agege, Lagos where she was confirmed “brought in dead” (BID) by the doctor on duty. The case was referred to the Nigerian Police Force which carried out thorough investigation with the help of other agencies. The file was subsequently forwarded to the DPP’s Office on Monday 20th March, 2023 for review of the duplicate case file. On the 23rd of March, 2023, the DPP issued his Legal Advice and came to the conclusion that a prima facie case of Involuntary Manslaughter and Reckless and Negligent Acts had been established against the School, some members of Staff and one of the Vendors. They will therefore be charged with the offences of Involuntary Manslaughter and Reckless and Negligent Acts contrary to Sections 224 & 251of the Criminal Law, Ch C17, Vol.3, Laws of Lagos State, 2015.  Information will be filed in accordance with the legal advice issued by the DPP. Certified True Copies of the Legal advice is available on the Ministry of Justice website (www.lagosstatemoj.org.).

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PRESS RELEASE: UPDATE ON THE MATTER OF THE COLLISION BETWEEN THE LASG STAFF BUS AND A TRAIN

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It would be recalled that on the morning of the 9th of March, 2023, a LASG staff bus collided with a train at the PWD railway crossing at Ikeja and the train dragged the bus with its passengers along the tracks until it came to a stop at Sogunle, a suburb of Ikeja, Lagos State. The horrific incident which involved LASG staff heading to work in the staff bus and passengers of the train resulted in 6 fatalities with about 96 others with various degrees of injuries. The injured victims were hospitalized across many Government Hospitals in the State. The driver of the staff bus on the fateful day (Mr. Oluwaseun Osibanjo) was apprehended and handed over to the Police for investigation and possible prosecution by the State. At the end of investigation, the casefile was forwarded to the D.P.P for further statutory actions. Upon the receipt and review of the casefile by the D.P.P, a prima facie case of Manslaughter, and Grievous Body Harm were disclosed against the driver of the Staff bus. Accordingly, he is to be charged with 6 counts of Manslaughter and 10 counts of Grievous Body Harm. Both offences are contrary to Sections 224 and 245 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State, 2015. The Office of the D.P.P will immediately file charges against the Driver. However, his arraignment before the High Court of Lagos State shall be delayed until he is fully fit to stand trial, having sustained serious injuries during the accident.

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PRESS STATEMENT – THE TRAIN/LAGOS STATE STAFF BUS ACCIDENT 

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In the early hours of 9th March 2023 at about 7:30 a.m, a Lagos State Government Staff bus with Registration Number 04A-48LA coming from Isolo to Ikeja while trying to cross the railway line at PWD, Ikeja, collided with a moving train. The Honourale Attorney General of Lagos State (HAG) will like to inform the public that the Bus Driver (Remi Osibanjo) has been arrested and detained for further investigation by the Railway Police Command Headquarters, Ebute-Metta, Lagos. The Commissioner of Police, Railway Police Command has taken over the investigation of the accident. The Bus involved in the collision has also been retrieved and sent for thorough examination at the Lagos State Vehicle Inspection Service Office and the Ministry of Justice (MOJ) await both reports from the Vehicle Inspection Office (VIO) and the Police regarding the cause of the accident. Whilst MOJ commiserate with the victims of the accident and the families of those who lost their lives to the tragic accident the HAG wants to assure members of the public that upon receipt of the case file from the Police and the report of the VIO, the office shall not hesitate to prosecute any person(s) found culpable.

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PRESS STATEMENT:LAGOS CONDEMNS ALLEGED PLANS TO EXHUME EX-CHRISLAND STUDENT’S BODY

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The Lagos State Ministry of Justice is aware of the current ongoing dialogue about the alleged plans to exhume the body of the late Whitney Omodesola Adeniran, a student of Chrisland Schools whose death as revealed by the autopsy, conducted by Lagos State University Teaching Hospital was as a result of asphyxia and electrocution. Whilst we have not received any such official communication requesting for exhumation , however if and when we do receive such a request, we shall be opposed to it. In any event, the circumstances for exhumation under the Coroners’ Systems Law, 2015 do not arise in this case. Additionally, it is not our intention to further traumatize the deceased’s family. We are working closely with the police who have given their reassurance that the duplicate case file would be forwarded on Monday, 6th of March, 2023 to the Directorate of Public Prosecutions to aid the speedy issuance of Legal Advice.

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Press Release: Chrisland

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The Office of the Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice has received the Post Mortem report dated 1st of March, 2023, issued by the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital, in respect of Adeniran Omodesola Whitney, who was until her demise, a student of Chrisland School, Opebi. The post mortem report revealed the cause of death to be Asphyxia and electrocution. The Directorate of Public Prosecutions has been instructed to immediately issue Legal Advice on the matter. We use this medium to commiserate with Whitney’s family, even as we reassure Lagosians that anybody found culpable would immediately be charged to court. Signed Mr. Moyosore Onigbanjo, SAN Honourable Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice Lagos State Ministry of Justice 2nd March, 2023

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PRESS RELEASE : LAGOS ORDERS CORONER’S INQUEST INTO DEATH OF WHITNEY OMODESOLA ADENIRAN

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The Lagos State Government has ordered a coroner’s inquest to ascertain the cause of  death in the case of the late Whitney Omodesola  Adeniran, a 12 year old student of Chrisland School, who died on Thursday, 9th February, 2023. The Lagos State Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, Mr Moyosore Onigbanjo (SAN) gave the directive in a statement today, noting that thorough investigation will be carried out to ascertain the cause of death. “A Coroner’s Inquest has immediately been requested , in line with section 14 and 15 of the Coroners’ Systems Law, Laws of Lagos State 2015, to determine the cause and circumstances of death. By Section 14(1)(d) of the Coroners’ System Law of the State: “A report of death shall be made to any of the agencies for the report of death or the office of the Coroner and be subject to post-mortem examination where there is reasonable cause to believe that the cause of death was: violent, unnatural or suspicious.” Section 15(1) and (9) further enjoins the Coroner to hold an inquest whenever he or she is informed that the death of the deceased person was in a violent, unnatural or suspicious situation or believes an inquest is desirable following the report of a reportable death. The commissioner noted that as a government, the security and wellbeing of citizens are of utmost importance while assuring the public that everything will be done to ensure that the cause of death is known. “The findings of this investigation will be made public in due course and appropriate sanctions meted out to anyone found culpable”.

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PRESS STATEMENT: LASG DEBUNKS NEWS OF ALLEDGED CONTINOUS DETENTION OF ENDSARS PROTESTERS

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The Lagos State Government has debunked in strong terms, an online story published by Sahara Reporters on the 16th of January, 2023 titled “Nigerian College Students Wiliams, Chukwuka arrested for #EndSars protest riot in Lagos Prison since 2020” stating that the news story is false and calculated to mislead the public. A statement signed by the Lagos State Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice, Mr. Moyosore Onigbanjo (SAN) said the case of the defendants, Dare Williams and Bethel Chukwuka were that of conspiracy to commit robbery and armed robbery which is not related to the EndSars protest as claimed by the online news medium. According to him, the defendants both conspired and robbed an Uber driver of his car on 21st December, 2020. They posed as passengers and were armed with a jackknife and went away with the victim’s Toyota Corolla car. They were later arrested by the police through a tracking device installed in the car. Upon the conclusion of investigation, the casefile was forwarded to the Directorate of Public Prosecution (DPP) on the 8th of January 2021, legal advice was issued on the 22nd of February, 2021 and information was filed against the defendants and trial is ongoing before Hon. Justice Sonaike sitting at TBS. The case of the defendants was never in any way connected to the #EndSars protests. The protest took place in October, 2020 and the defendants were arrested in December, 2020. The incident leading to their arrest on the 21st of December 2020 was a case of armed robbery and not a protest against police brutality. The news is a total falsehood and rather unfortunate that the publisher  did not seek the views of the DPP to verify the claims of the Defendants. Onigbanjo noted that the State Government will continue to ensure that justice is pursued and the State is safe for all citizens to do their legitimate business.

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PRESS RELEASE: LAGOS CELEBRATES WORLD HUMAN RIGHTS DAY.

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Lagos State Government has said that it will not relent in its effort to protect human dignity, promote freedom and ensure justice for all in the State. The Solicitor General and Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Justice, Ms. Titilayo Shitta-Bey made this declaration on Wednesday at the opening ceremony of the World Human Rights Day 2022, organized by the State Directorate for Citizens Rights under the Ministry of Justice, themed: “Dignity, Freedom and Justice For All” held at the Adeyemi Bero Auditorium, Alausa, Secretariat. In her welcome address, Shitta-Bey noted that the event couldn’t hold in December 2022, due to early vacation of schools, adding that the Ministry of Justice has continued to sensitize the public about their fundamental human rights through its various agencies. “The Lagos State Government has invariably ensured that through seminars, trainings, drama presentations and school debates across the State, it will continue to bring awareness to the importance of knowing your right as a citizen, how these rights can be protected and how infractions are addressed.” “Furthermore, the goal that every human being should have full enjoyment of their human rights implies that nobody should suffer violations of those rights. The prevention of human rights violations is therefore a key part of the State Government’s effort to protect and promote human rights for all”. she said. The Chief Registrar of Lagos State High Court, Mr. T.A Elias, during his presentation said that all children, wherever they live and whatever their circumstances may be, have the right to be protected, nurtured and free from all forms of violence, abuse, neglect, maltreatment and exploitation. “The Judiciary collaborates with relevant stakeholders across the State to safeguard the right of the Lagos Child while ensuring the prevention of a breach of the Child’s Rights Law and any person (s) found to have violated any of these rights will be prosecuted accordingly.” The Director for Directorate of Citizens Right, Ms. Adetutu Oshinusi, expressed gratitude towards the stakeholders and students for supporting the government on its journey to protect the rights of citizens across the State, while imploring them to continue being good citizens and ambassadors of the Human Rights movement. Oshinusi therefore urged the students and  participants at the program to report any form of human rights abuse to the Ministry of Justice, Directorates for Citizens Rights even if it involves family, friends or loved ones..

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