Caleb Onwe 
A Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Magistrates’ Court has re-opened the Jabi Lake Mull after 10 days. The court also ordered the management of the facility to publish an unreserved apology to the government in national dailies, for hosting the Lagos-based controversial artiste, Naira Marley, in concert. The Mull was shut down last week by an order of the same court for organising the “Drive-in-Concert” which attracted a large crowd, against the social distancing rules and the extant 8p.m.-6a.m. curfew.
Three staff of the Mull, who were arraigned before the magistrate who sat as a Mobile Court at Jabi, were accused of organising a concert that violated the COVID- 19 health safety guidelines and other protocols approved by the Presidential Task Force.
Magistrate Idayat Akanni, who ordered that the Mull should immediately be reopened, stated that she had perused the application filed by the defence counsel, Mr. Nnamdi Ekwem, praying the court to unseal the business premises. Akanni noted that her judgement was based on the overall interest of those who would be affected adversely, should the Mull remain closed. She also stated that the Mull had over 100 employees and other tenants who were not co-offenders in the matter, and might have their fundamental human rights seriously infringed. According to her, the order is also based on compassion, especially in consideration of the economic losses that will be suffered by those affected, coupled with the impact of COVID-19 on the people.
The Chairman of FCT Ministerial Task Force on COVID-19, Ikharo Attah, said the FCTA had no objections to the rulings of the court, because the administration wanted to remain a model in obeying the rule of law. Attah noted that FCT Minister, Mallam Muhammad Bello, had demonstrated a strong will to respect the laws while striving for good governance.
He stressed that nobody could violate the laws and go unpunished in FCT. Attah added that the management of the Mull was expected to comply with the order of the court on publishing an apology to the government in national dailies, as soon as possible. He said: “In the wisdom of the court, it has decided to re-open the Mull after 10 days, and also asking the management to publish an apology to the government on national dailies. We expect it as quick as possible. “We have shown the world that the government works here. We have also shown that the rule of law is respected here. We abide by the order, since the court’s judgement is based on compassion and the economic losses already recorded.”
