A Chief Magistrate court sitting in Ado-Ekiti has ordered that the Crown Emirate hotel, in Ikere-Ekiti, Ekiti State where three persons died be during a convocation party stampede be sealed with immediate effect.
The court also acede to a request by the Attorney General of the state to allow the Director of Public Prosecution, DPP, to take over the case.
The Chief Magistrate, Mr. Abayomi Adeosun, granted the request after 12 suspects were arraigned in court by the police over the Ikere-Ekiti stampede.
The police prosecutor, Mr. Martins Akala, had arraigned the suspects in a motion exparte requesting that the suspects be remanded at the Correctional custody for 30 days for further investigation.
The suspects were charged for conspiracy, Criminal negligence, man slaughter with 10 paragraphs affidavit to support the charges.
Barrister Kunle Adeyemo, deputy Director, Legal Officer, Ekiti State, had told the court that he has the authority of the Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, Mr. Dayo Apata, SAN, to take over the matter.
During the court hearing, lawyers who represented their clients, including Barrister Kike Owolabi, Gbenga Ariyibi, Busuyi Ayorinde, A. T. Durodola, and others told the court that there is “no reasonable cause to remand their clients, saying that their right to liberty would be taken from them.
They also asked that the application be dismiss, since they were not at the scene of the crime.
The Chief Magistrate however ruled that all the suspects be remanded at the Correctional custody, pending legal advice from the DPP and adjourned the case until May 19, 2026.
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