75 year old woman detained for standing surety for son that jumped bail
Neighbours and relations of an ailing 75-year-old woman, Elizabeth Otubambo, have expressed concerns as she is being held in prison custody since last month. Otubambo has been incarcerated at Ibara Prisons in Abeokuta, Ogun State, over an alleged offence committed by her son. The News Agency of Nigeria learnt in Abeokuta on Friday that Otumbabo has been held since February 15 for her inability to produce her only child, Destiny Otubambo, who is alleged to have jumped bail after his mother stood surety for him.
The septuagenarian, residing at
Iyana Isashi community in Ojo, near Lagos, is said to be in deteriorating
health, a condition that has reportedly taken a turn for the worse since her
incarceration. One of Otubambo’s neighbours, Mrs. Bidemi Erinle, appealed to
the Ogun Government to intervene in the matter, to ensure that the old woman, a
widow, does not die in prison. “Holding a 75-year-old woman in prison custody
for an offence committed by her son questions the humanity of the people who
ordered her incarceration,’’ Erinle said. She pleaded that Otubambo be released
immediately, while the Police continue the search for her son. Speaking on the
matter, Public Relations Officer of the Ogun State Police Command, Mr. Abimbola
Oyeyemi, told NAN that Elizabeth was being held on the orders of an Ogun State
Magistrates’ Court. He said that her son was arrested by the Police, following
complaints by the owner of Soultrag Hotel, Petetdo, Agbara in Ogun State, over
unpaid hotel bills. The Police spokesman said that Destiny had lodged in the
hotel with his three other friends for about a month, incurring a bill of about
one million naira. Oyeyemi disclosed that Destiny, who was held in prison
custody after his arraignment, was later granted bail after his aged mother
stood surety for him. He said that the court had ordered that the old woman
should be held in prison custody until her son shows up to answer to the
charges brought against him.
(NAN)
