Magistrate Kicks Journalists and Complainant Out of Court in Herder Case

Questions are being raised about fairness and secrecy in Akwa Ibom’s justice system. A complainant was kicked out of court, and journalists were barred from covering an important case about cattle damaging farms.

At least three journalists told PREMIUM TIMES that they were denied entry to Magistrate Court 7 in Uyo. They wanted to report on the case of Commissioner of Police v. Abdullahi Yusuf. This case involves claims that cattle invaded farms owned by investigative journalist and farmer Ibanga Isine.

Mr Isine, who reported the police after several alleged farm invasions, was also ordered out of the courtroom by the presiding magistrate, Godwin Edemekong. This information comes from Mr Isine and two journalists who spoke to this newspaper.

As of Friday, the magistrate or the court had not made any public comment about what happened.

The issue of cattle destroying farmlands by herders is still a big problem in Akwa Ibom. This is despite a law that banned open grazing of cattle in the state since 2021.

For many months, Mr Isine has been trying to get justice for what he calls repeated attacks by herders on his commercial farms in Uyo. The farms, located along Airport Road and within Shelter Afrique Estate, grow vegetables and staple crops on a large scale. Mr Isine says cattle have destroyed his cucumber and okra fields, damaged irrigation equipment, and forced workers to run away during some of these invasions.

This situation led to the arrest and court appearance of a herder named Mr Yusuf.

“Each time I asked the prosecutor for information, he said he was busy. After much pressure, he told me the hearing was set for Thursday, 18 June 2026, and insisted I had to be in court. Strangely, I only received details of the case an hour before the hearing,” Mr Isine wrote on Facebook.

What occurred in court on Thursday shifted focus away from the case itself to how the proceedings were handled.

Emediong Silva, a journalist with XL106.9FM, reached the court before the proceedings began. At first, he said everything seemed fine. That changed when he mentioned the case he came to cover.

“The clerk told me I needed a permit from my station to enter the court,” Mr Silva said. “I called my office, and they spoke with him. After that, the issue changed from a permit to questions about the case.”

He was moved around by court officials and told to wait. Eventually, they said journalists could not go inside. He found this strange.

“Court proceedings are usually open. I have covered courts before and never faced this situation.

“Later, police in the court came, pulled me outside, and slammed the door. They treated me like a thief. Mr Isine was also dragged out. The magistrate yelled, ‘Get out of my court. Take him out of my court’. No reason was given.”

Jonathan Essien, a journalist with Inspiration FM, shared a similar story. He said the moment he mentioned the herder’s case, he was asked to leave. “I stayed outside and watched what happened,” he told PREMIUM TIMES. “I saw police pushing the XL FM reporter out. I also saw Mr Isine being taken away from the courtroom.”

“I think they reacted this way because of the case. I saw three herders in court, and they were not chased away,” he added.

Idongesit Akan, a reporter with the state-owned Pioneer Newspaper, confirmed she went to the court but was told the case would not be heard there and left.

By the time Mr Isine got into the courtroom, some journalists had already been sent away. He said the proceedings for his case had not yet started when a court official spoke briefly with the magistrate.

Moments later, the magistrate ordered a journalist out. Then he turned to Mr Isine.

“He asked who I was,” Mr Isine recalled. “I stood up and said I was the complainant. Before I could finish, he told me to get out.”

Mr Isine reminded the court that the police prosecutor had specifically told him to be there. It did not matter. Three police officers escorted him out of the courtroom. His case had not even been called yet.

When contacted by PREMIUM TIMES, the police prosecutor, Blessing Essien, admitted he told Mr Isine to come to court that day. He said he was called to handle an urgent matter at his office, which delayed him and kept him from being there when the proceedings started.

Before leaving for the office, he filed an application asking the court to hold off on the case.

“I didn’t know the call from my boss would take longer. So, before I left, I signed a stand-down paper, thinking I would make it back in time,” Mr Essien explained.

He later asked court officials for details on what happened. A clerk told him that Mr Isine was trying to record proceedings without permission.

“Normally, to record proceedings, you need permission from the court,” he said.

When asked if the other three journalists were recording and were also sent out with Mr Isine, Mr Essien said he was not there when it happened and could not confirm what occurred.

Mr Isine rejected this explanation.

“My phone was switched off,” he said. “If anyone thought I was recording, why wasn’t my phone taken? Why wasn’t I confronted? Why were other journalists stopped from entering before the magistrate came?”

He called the claim an excuse for actions that had already been taken.

Mr Isine questioned why he would record another case when his own had not been called.

“Why did the prosecutor tell me to be in court when he himself was not there? And he had written to the court to stand down the matter? It was all planned,” he added.

PREMIUM TIMES visited the court on Friday for clarification.

An assistant chief registrar said she was not there during the incident and could not comment. She directed the reporter to speak with the magistrate or the clerk for Court 7.

When the newspaper reached Court 7, the courtroom was locked even though other courts were still in session. Requests for the official record of Thursday’s proceedings and the court’s stance on the allegations were not granted. The assistant registrar told the newspaper to come back on Monday.

The incident has drawn backlash from the Nigeria Union of Journalists, Akwa Ibom State Council.

In a statement on Friday, the union called the exclusion of journalists from an open court an attack on transparency and the public’s right to know.

The union asked for an explanation from the magistrate and urged the state’s Chief Judge to look into what happened.

This situation also brings back memories of past issues with access and transparency in the Akwa Ibom judiciary.

In 2022, PREMIUM TIMES reported on how journalists and observers had to give up their mobile phones during a trial that ultimately led to the imprisonment of human rights lawyer Inibehe Effiong for contempt.

Thursday’s events have once again put the spotlight on the relationship between the judiciary, the press, and public accountability.