Actress
and former beauty queen Ibinabo Fiberesima, who is currently serving a
five-year jail term, was denied bail by the Court of Appeal in Lagos on
Thursday.
The
three-man panel of judges, headed by Justice U.I. Ndukwe-Anyanwu, ruled
that the application was incomplete, as the appellant failed to attach
to her application copies of the judgment affirming the five-year jail
sentence imposed on her by a Lagos High Court.
Presiding
Justice Ndukwe-Anyanwu said the only option left was to strike out the
application and adjourn it to a further date for a hearing.
Consequently, Nnaemeka
Amaechina, Ms. Fiberesima’s counsel, asked for an adjournment to enable
him to correct the bail application. The court subsequently adjourned
the matter to April 7.
Meanwhile,
Ms. Fiberesima asked the Supreme Court to set aside the judgement of
the lower court that was affirmed by the appellate court.
In
her notice of appeal, she stated that the Court of Appeal erred when it
affirmed the alteration by the High Court of Lagos State by setting
aside the option of a N100,000 fine and substituting it with a prison
term of five years.
The
appellant further stated that the Court of Appeal erred when it affirmed
the interference by the High Court with the exercise of discretion by
the Magistrate’s Court.
Ms.
Fiberesima added that the judgment of the Court of Appeal was
unreasonable and could not be supported, with regard to the evidence
presented before the court.
In
a six-paragraph affidavit of urgency deposed to by one Victor Eden, the
deponent stated that Ms. Fiberesima is currently recovering from breast
tumor-removal surgery and requires medical attention.
“Her
wound has not fully healed and as such she is afraid that her continued
stay in prison may endanger her life, as she will not have access to
special medical attention,” he stated.
The
deponent stated further that it would be in the interest of justice and
for her health to admit Ms. Fiberesima to bail pending the hearing and
determination of her appeal to the Supreme Court.
The
actress was handed a five-year prison sentence by Justice Deborah
Oluwayemi for reckless driving, which caused the death of one Dr. Giwa
Suraj in an auto accident along the Lekki-Epe Expressway in Lagos.
Dissatisfied, Ms. Fiberesima, in her amended appellant brief filed by
Mr. Amaechina, urged the court to set aside the five-year sentence and
restore the decision of the Magistrate’s Court.
The
appellate court dismissed the actress’ appeal in its judgement delivered
on February 11 and affirmed the decision of the Lagos High Court.
SOURCE: Sahara reporters