A bailiff of the Court of Appeal sitting in Benin, Edo State, Mr. Abraham Ifijieh, has narrated how he was beaten up at the office of the Speaker of Edo State House of Assembly when he went there to serve him court processes.
The Appeal Court had ordered the serving of Form 48 titled “Notice of consequences of disobedience of Court order” on the Speaker and the Clerk of Edo Assembly, Mr. Lawson Ugiabe following the failure of the Speaker, Mr. Victor Edoror to swear in Mr. Syvanus Eruaga of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, as the member representing Etsako West constituency 11 in the state House of Assembly.
Mr. Ifijieh, in an interview with Vanguard, said: “When I got to the House of Assembly, I went first to the office of the Clerk of the House to serve the court processes. The Secretary to the Clerk simply told me that they had been instructed not to receive anything from the Court of Appeal after I had introduced myself that I was a bailiff of the court.
“They refused to collect the court processes. I then proceeded to the office of the Speaker, Mr. Edoror, to serve him the court processes. It was the same thing that I was told there. But arguing with them on the need to do my job, two security personnel emerged from the inner office to inquire what was going on.
“Before I could state my own side of the story, I was given three slaps by an aide to the Speaker, rough handled, pushed away from the office and ordered to leave immediately or be killed.”
Attempts to reach the Speaker for his reaction failed as he was not in the office following the adjournment of the sitting of the legislature sine die as a result of its rowdy session during the week.
