The ex-beauty queen, Ibinabo Fiberesima, who has been convicted for the manslaughter of  a Lagos medical doctor through reckless driving, appeared in court today as directed by the presiding judge, Justice Deborah Oluwayemi, and was sent to Kirikiri Maximum Security Prison.

The judge further ordered that the Medical Director of the prison should attend to her medical needs to ascertain her ailment.

Ibinabo broke down and wept as she was being led out of the court after the judge ordered that she should be sent to Kirikiri.

The lawyer, who appeared for her today, Mr. Fred Agbaje, withdrew the application for stay of execution of the judgement of the court and applied for bail pending the determination of the appeal at the appellate court.

The prosecution counsel, Mr. Lawal Pedro, did not oppose the application, rather, he said he will contest the appeal at the appellate court.

Justice Oluwayemi adjourned the case till 2 April 2009 for ruling.

A Lagos High Court judge had last Tuesday ordered that Ibinabo be brought before her irrespective of her health status, as she once again failed to appear before the court to defend her application for stay of execution she had filed.

The court had earlier sentenced Ibinabo to five years imprisonment without an option of fine, having found her guilty of murder through reckless and dangerous driving.

The convict, who was given an option of N100,000 fine at the trial magistrate’s court, was sentenced by Justice Deborah Oluwayemi, after the Lagos State government had appealed the lower court’s judgment.

But at the mention of her application for stay of execution of the judgment on Thursday, 19 March, her lawyer informed the court that Ibinabo was hospitalised in a Port Harcourt hospital. The counsel brought a sick report to buttress his claim.

However, Justice Oluwayemi rejected the medical report and ordered the ex-beauty queen to appear before her. She said her application for stay of execution would not be considered until she personally appeared before her.

Her lawyer, Mr. Ijebu Ode Agbarawu, told the court last Tuesday that the convict was still receiving treatment in the Port Harcourt hospital.

Delivering her ruling on Tuesday, Justice Oluwayemi ordered that a subpoena be issued on Dr. G. Harris of Braithwaite Hospital, Port Harcourt, who signed the medical report sent to the court on Thursday, 19 March.

She ordered that Ibinabo must be produced in court at the next adjournment date.

The Director of Public Prosecution (DPP), Lagos State, Mrs. Ayo Odugbesan, aligned herself with the court.

Thereafter, Justice Oluwayemi adjourned till 30 April for further hearing.

Ibinabo had gone underground and certainly not on admission at the Braithwaite Memorial Hospital, BMH, Port Harcourt, when P.M.News visited the BMH female medical ward where she was said to be receiving treatment.

A source said: “it sounds strange that Ibinabo Fiberesima, a popular personality, a former beauty queen and a Nollywood star can be on admission in a hospital such as this and it would be hidden.”

Interestingly, our contact who knows her very well called her mobile line and she answered her call but refused to disclose where she was answering the call.

Our contact said he wanted to pretend to be sympathizing with her over her recent travails and to prove that Ibinabo had merely gone underground and “not critically ill” and also not on admission at BMH as widely circulated.

Ibinabo played active role during the Rivers State Cultural festival tagged RIVIFEST and ECOWAS beauty pageant as consultant to the Rivers State.

http://thepmnews.com/2009/03/30/murder-case-ibinabo-sent-to-kirikiri

5yrz for murder by reckless drivin'?!
Shuldnt it be more than juz 5yrz? wot waz her defence?

How sad i wuz with her brother in UK recently!

I do sympathize with her on her present predicaments just like how i have been sympathizing with the family of the victim she crushed to death.
However, it seems she brought this upon herself as she was seem to be less remorseful about the murder.
Most nigerians have been upset by this attitude which might have prompted the lagos state government to push the case further.

What a sad situation.

5yrz for murder by reckless drivin'?!
Shuldnt it be more than juz 5yrz? wot waz her defence?

People serve only 6 months for the same offense in the US. It's manslaughter and not murder.

Her not showing a single remorse immediately after d accident cost her most. US is not Naija & their criminal law differs. Therefore, dont say 6 months as a jail term

iReport:

People serve only 6 months for the same offense in the US. It's manslaughter and not murder.

i don't even think she should be convicted.

she is a single mother. she had no previous record of reckless driving. she commited manslaughter and not murder.

the worst she should have gotten is a heavy fine in 6-figures.

our judiciary system is shambolic.

iReport:

People serve only 6 months for the same offense in the US. It's manslaughter and not murder.

Well it depends. . .

superstan:

i don't even think she should be convicted.

she is a single mother. she had no previous record of reckless driving. she commited manslaughter and not murder.

the worst she should have gotten is a heavy fine in 6-figures.

our judiciary system is shambolic.

Being a single mother is no defence. . .

Whatever sentence she gets, fine, 5yrz, 3yrz wotevaa. . . . She should also be given a licence disqualification for a while.

Kirikiri

They have buried my sister alive. Ibinabo should have stayed here in London, not gone back to Naija. I am sure Okinans will never forgive the Judge for the harsh sentence she handed out to Ibinabo. Not to worry, "Good will come" to Ibinabo as her name suggests. She will only serve half of her sentence.

pls do remember that she had been drinking before the accident

It's not murder, it's manslaughter. How can journalists not know the difference. Very ridiculous.

Thought I read she was given fine option.

https://www.nairaland.com/nigeria/topic-238527.0.html

Justice has been served finally. Don't drink and drive.

the above was hotfunmi's quote in that thread. . .( does she stand for anything?)

JUSTICE Deborah Oluwayemi of a Lagos High Court has sentenced a former beauty queen and popular actress, Ms. Ibinabo Fiberesima, to five years imprisonment for manslaughter, involving the death of a medical doctor, Mr. Suraj Giwa.

Delivering her judgment in an appeal by the Lagos State Government against the verdict of an Igbosere Magistrate's Court on Friday, Justice Oluwayemi held that the N100,000 fine imposed by the lower court on Fiberesima was tantamount to judicial recklessness.

According to the judge, it is unreasonable for a magistrate to give an option of N100,000 fine to someone who has taken the life of another person through dangerous driving.


She said, "I hold that the magistrate exercised judicial recklessness in giving her option of fine when such is not contained in the traffic law.

"I wonder why the magistrate regards N100,000 as an option for someone who caused the death of another person by dangerous driving. Discretion should be exercised judicially and not recklessly.

"The nature of the offence is so grave that I do not know how he (the magistrate) came about with an option of fine. Justice is a three-way affair.

"N100,000 fine is not a reasonable judgment for someone who has taken the life of another person.

"I hereby set aside the judgment of the magistrate's court and impose five years imprisonment on the convict.

"I also order that the N100,000 fine paid by the convict should not be returned to her."

the silly bitch tried to use connections to get off the hook by paying a paltry fine of 100k. I seem to remember that life insurance is partially based on projected earnings.

imagine if she had hit any of us. that 100k cannot carry a family for two months. what unbridled arrogance. let this serve as a lesson to all those morons out there who drive when drunk. too bad for her, it wasn't a street hawker she hit. the 100k would have ended it. just as if she had hit someone of her ilk or higher, she'd be really hearing it.

They have buried my sister alive. Ibinabo should have stayed here in London, not gone back to Naija. I am sure Okinans will never forgive the Judge for the harsh sentence she handed out to Ibinabo. Not to worry, "Good will come" to Ibinabo as her name suggests. She will only serve half of her sentence.

i wonder if you would share such sentiments if you had been a victim of her recklessness.

she is a single mother. she had no previous record of reckless driving. she commited manslaughter and not murder.

the worst she should have gotten is a heavy fine in 6-figures.

our judiciary system is shambolic.

Is this a joke? Least she still has her kid, what about the victim's family?

Btw DWI/DUI is more than 6 months in the states, not to mention someone died cos of it so it definitely would have been more.

Manslaughter is only less than a year or 18months IF the person wasnt under the influence of anything.

It hasnt been proved that Ibinabo was under the influence. She fled the scene not even knowing that there had been a fatality. This is a judgement without proof, just media hearsay. As the article says, she was convicted of reckless driving, not drink-driving. Thats an 18 month sentence at most.

http://www.thefreelibrary.com/DUI+SENTENCE+OVERTURNED+15+YEARS+SOUGHT+IN+MANSLAUGHTER-a083499607

check this link out, my fellow US friends - the man there first got fifteen years whcih was later reverted to 10 years, so, dont give me that kind of "this-cant-happen-in-US" talk. check out this other link tooo - this man has no prior drink-drivin convictions and was fatally injured in the crash too and, yet got 18 months in the big house

http://www.calvertnews.info/news/426/Bowen-sentenced-fatal-crash

Seen people get the same sentence in UK in the news, it is a pity I cant find the link to those convictions. So, don't let your "star-fan " emotion becloud your sense of judgement in this particular case.

PeeDaVinci:

http://www.thefreelibrary.com/DUI+SENTENCE+OVERTURNED+15+YEARS+SOUGHT+IN+MANSLAUGHTER-a083499607

check this link out, my fellow US friends - the man there first got fifteen years whcih was later reverted to 10 years, so, dont give me that kind of "this-cant-happen-in-US" talk.

Seen people get the same sentence in UK in the news, it is a pity I cant find the link to those convictions. So, don't let your "star-fan " emotion becloud your sense of judgement in this particular case.

The man in your link has seven DUI convictions. What kind of mumu comparison is this?

I.b wasn't even proved to be under the influence, therefore a 5-year sentence for reckless driving is extremely heavy-handed. Besides, what kind of justice are we serving by sending someone to a hell-hole disguised as a jail? Is Kirikiri a jail or is it a concentration camp?

The first sentence was too light, and this one is far too heavy. I think the justice system is overreacting.

im not losing a single micro second of sleep over her predicament,ill rather save that for a man who would have gone through blood sweat and tears for well over 5 years to qualify as a medical doctor not to talk of the financial sacrifices gone through by him and his family,whose life was cut short by a drunken nollywood star who though she could get way with anything because of her status.
the fact that she left the scene without making moves to see if the guy could have been saved is enough for her to serve a massive jail term,talk less of being unremorceful and trying to play on the court's intelligence,imagine if she was a governor or commissioner she ll probably lock the guy's family up!!

The dead cry for justice
The living cry for compassion

@ibime

Ibime:

The man in your link has seven DUI convictions. What kind of mumu comparison is this?

I.b wasn't even proved to be under the influence, therefore a 5-year sentence for reckless driving is extremely heavy-handed. Besides, what kind of justice are we serving by sending someone to a hell-hole disguised as a jail? Is Kirikiri a jail or is it a concentration camp?

i posted two links, check out the other link too

It hasnt been proved that Ibinabo was under the influence. She fled the scene not even knowing that there had been a fatality. This is a judgement without proof, just media hearsay. As the article says, she was convicted of reckless driving, not drink-driving. Thats an 18 month sentence at most.

even more frightening. she hit a person and ran away. they say show me your friend. . .

http://www.africanseer.com/nigerian-actress-must-be-jailed.html

Ibinabo Fiberesima had appealed against her five-year sentence but did not attend the hearing in Lagos.

Judge Deborah Oluwayemi told the court that Miss Fiberesima should be in jail while she files her appeal.

Justice Oluwayemi said[b] Miss Fiberesima had tried to use her wealth and connections to avoid jail. [/b]

‘Big man’ connections

“There ar[b]e so many innocent persons in prisons awaiting trial while a convicted person is allowed to work about freely,”[/b] Justice Oluwayemi was reported by local media as telling the court.

“We should not give Nigerians the impression that because someone is related to a ‘big man’ in the society then such individual can ignore court order.”

Miss Fiberesima’s lawyer said she was receiving medical treatment for typhoid in the southern city of Port Harcourt, and couldn’t attend the hearing.

“I indulged her throughout the proceedings as she did not appear in court. Fiberesima is entitled to appeal even to the Supreme Court but she must be at the proper place, that is the prison yard,” Justice Oluwayemi said.

She is a star of Nollywood - Nigeria’s thriving film industry, whose output is popular across West Africa.

‘Judicial recklessness’

Miss Fiberesima, a mother of two, was convicted of drunk and reckless driving in 2005 by a magistrate’s court.

The court found she had caused the death of Dr Giwa Suraj in a car crash on a highway in Lagos earlier that year.

But the magistrate said she had the option of paying a 100,000 naira ($678, £467) fine instead of going to jail.

The magistrate offered the fine because of Miss Fiberesima’s “demeanour before the court”, her lawyer told a previous court hearing.

The Lagos prosecutor appealed against the judgement and the High Court found her guilty of manslaughter, calling the fine “judicial recklessness”.

most people seem to believe she was drunk. . .

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&client=opera&rls=en&hs=n4e&q=was+Ibinabo+Fiberesima+drunk%3F&btnG=Search

@ ibime
fleeing the scene was in itself irresponsible and infact a crime. as for the hell holes, they are what is available. a special jail will not be built for her

@Ibime

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1083636/Judge-breaks-tears-sentences-lorry-driver-killed-motorcyclist-dangerous-U-turn.html

this man was not even drunk and he got 14 years in uk!!!

oyb:

most people seem to believe she was drunk. . .

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&client=opera&rls=en&hs=n4e&q=was+Ibinabo+Fiberesima+drunk%3F&btnG=Search

Are you alright?

The sentence is for reckless driving.

Count one: Reckless driving

Count two: Dangerous driving

Save the drink-driving allegations for tabloid gossip.

Based on the evidence in court, 5 years is too harsh. This judge is trying to be a hero. She better be careful. She may be messing with the wrong one.

Fleeing the scene is what Lagosians do after accidents to avoid being lynched.  It's self-defence.

i dont have much against ibinabo killing anybody - coz what happened to her can happen to anybody , and I feel for the family of the dead man too, i dont pray to be in their shoes(neither do i pray for Ibinabo to be in their shoes too), but the problem with Ibinabo is arrongance, and the believe that fame and money cant get you anyting in Nigeria, she showed no remorse for what she did, which is one major thing that Jugdes look ia in delivering a jugdement abt "manslaughter" cases. Wish her 5 year sentence to be reduced, but wish her to learn the lesson (and also teach others especially the oppresors in nigeria) that they will not have it their way all day

Are you kidding me? So simply because she fled the scene of the accident, implies that she was not drunk?

Ibime:

Are you alright?

The sentence is for reckless driving.

Count one: Reckless driving

Count two: Dangerous driving

Save the drink-driving allegations for tabloid gossip.

Based on the evidence in court, 5 years is too harsh. This judge is trying to be a hero. She better be careful. She may be messing with the wrong one.

the big men are letting us know that judges have no business sending them to jail

the fact of the matter is that in nigeria, we have no tests for drunk driving in the first place. in the end , only she knows whether she was drunk or not. what is clear is that she had NO remorse, only contempt, royalty throwing coins to the commoners

I wonder what would have happened if she was the daughter of IBB, OBJ or yar'adua.
But this will help people to know the law of tha land will help to some extent.

.

tpia:

If the shoe were on the other foot and Ibinabo had been the one killed, would the reactions here be the same?

I'm sure she wont serve out her sentence and besides, she can always try to get extradited to whichever country she claims citizenship of.

Martha Stewart and Paris Hilton both served jail times for various offences. Likewise Bill Clinton got impeached for an offence.  All it means is she'll start from a clean slate once she's out.


Deepzone is simply following nuzo, who happens to be her master at the moment. She sings whatever tune she's being hired to sing at any given point in time.

Well said, and that was why i said finally, the law seems to be for us all to some extent.