THE PEOPLE VS IBINABO FIBERESIMA VS LEKKI GARDENS

Majority of us must have heard about the tragedy that befell Ibinabo Fiberesima (Nollywood Actress) and Richard Nyong (MD of Lekki Gardens).

For those of us who haven’t heard, here’s a recap.

Ibinabo Fiberesima is a veteran Nollywood actress who has been acting for as long as I can remember. She also happens to be the President of the Actors Guild of Nigeria (AGN).

Ten years ago on the 26th of February 2006, Ibinabo was said to have been driving along Lekki-Epe expressway when her car veered dangerously off the road and headed in the direction of a certain Dr. Giwa Suraj thereby killing him instantly.

Following the incident, a Lagos magistrate court sentenced Ibinabo to five years imprisonment with an option of N100,000 fine which she of course paid without hesitation. This got the prosecution furious and led to the appeal of the case in a High Court which ruled that Ibinabo be sent to prison for five years without an option of fine.

Ibinabo subsequently appealed the judgement in a Supreme Court which on the 11th of March 2016 upheld the ruling of the High Court that Ibinabo Fiberesima be sent to FIVE YEARS imprisonment WITHOUT the option of fine.

So in layman terms, Ibinabo IS DEFINITELY GOING TO PRISON!

Now for the second tragedy survivor, Mr Richard Nyong who is a Real Estate mogul and also the MD of the famous Lekki Gardens. Lekki Gardens is a private company that focuses on various special investment rewards project that aims at making everyone and anyone a landlord.

Basically, they erect different structures and make them affordable for lay man by accepting a reasonable down payment then receiving the rest monthly in form of a mortgage while you get to reside in the property until your final payment is completed.

Isn’t that a dream come true for every Nigerian?

Well it was until one of their buildings collapsed recently killing 32 people. It is said that the management of Lekki Gardens went behind the building regulators to add two additional floors after getting approval for only three storeys which is precisely what caused the collapse of the five-storey building.

Following the tragic event, an Ebute-Metta Chief Magistrate Court also on Friday the 11th of March 2016, granted the request of the Lagos State Police Command seeking to keep the MD of Lekki Gardens, Richard Nyong in custody pending the conclusion of on-going investigation into the building collapse.

In other words, the MD of Lekki Gardens is currently in custody and facing a lot of charges and possible jail time.

Now, to the reason I wrote this post.

As the topic of this post says, it is THE PEOPLE VS IBINABO FIBERESIMA VS LEKKI GARDENS and this is why I put it that way.

Both parties are suffering for a culpable action which could have been avoided had they chosen to act differently.

Ibinabo chose to drive recklessly and was supposedly “drunk” at the time which led to the demise of ONE PERSON while Richard Nyong built a five-storey on a building that was approved for a three-storey which led to the demise of SEVERAL PEOPLE.

Yet for some unknown reason, the “people” are urging the government to temper justice with mercy for Nyong’s case while the same “people” are supporting the judge’s ruling against Ibinabo claiming she deserves even more jail time.

Isn’t that a bit unfair?

Click on the link below to continue reading

http://alocovivavoce.com/2016/03/16/the-people-vs-ibinabo-fiberesima-vs-lekki-gardens/