A few weeks ago, I published that veteran yoruba actor Lere Paimo was bedridden and down with stroke…apparently, there’s more to the case!
Lere Paimo is claiming that Jide Kosoko (another actor) is responsible for his plight…and besides, there are reasons to believe that Lere might have staged his alleged sickness to avoid being arrested.
See how Tribune reports the story:
Actor, Lere Paimo, a.k.a Eda Onileola, was arrested in Ibadan last Thursday over a court contempt allegation.
The actor had repeatedly refused to show up in a lower court in
Ilorin in the case brought against him by the Association of Nigerian
Theatre Practitioners (ANTP) over the conduct of an election that
returned Comrade Victor Ashaolu as ANTP president in 2010.
Upon his arrest, Eda told the officer that he was not in good
condition to embark on the trip to Kwara State and begged to be allowed
to come to the capital city another time.
When the actor insisted that he needed medical help, which eventually
convinced the officer of the seriousness of the actor’s situation, he
took him to a police clinic in Ibadan for medical attention.
Eda was admitted for a day and was taken to Ilorin the next day to face contempt charge brought against him.
In Ilorin, ANTP lawyer, Abdulganiyu Bello, appealed to the police
officers, after talking to the defendant’s lawyer, to allow Eda to go
back to Ibadan after begging them not to jail him as that could kill
him.
The lawyer confirmed to R in a phone conversation on Thursday evening
that the actor was diabetic and should be allowed to take care of
himself before they could proceed on any action.
“I have explained baba’s condition to the court and he was allowed to
go back home. He actually could have been jailed if not for his ill
health. As regards his final freedom though, it is only the court that
can decide that”, he told R.
Asked why Eda was brought to Ilorin by police officer, he said the
actor had refused to respond to court summons asking him to come and
answer to charges against him by Dele Odule as regards ANTP election
held in Ilorin in 2010 depsite a court order against the conduct
“On several occasions, Eda refused to honour the court and the court
moved against him last week. He should obey the court the next time”, he
advised.
Responding to the issue of summon, Lere Paimo blamed his predicament
on Jide Kosoko and promised to fight on till justice is done.
“I know those behind my problem now, especially Jide Kosoko. I will
not forgive them even if I am asked to, because my spirit will not
forgive me if I do what you asked as regards forgiving them if they ask
me to,” he added.
Kosoko, however, said Eda got it wrong if he believed he ordered his arrest from Lagos.
“With due respect to Baba Eda, who I hold dearly, I am not behind his legal problems or any other problems he is going through.
“Someone sued those who conducted an election a court had earlier
instructed that should not be held and baba is now blaming me. I am not
the court. A court issued a bench warrant for his arrest, not me, not
ANTP”, the president of ANTP told R.
He added that he had never been to Ilorin since the case began and had nothing to do with the case in question.
“I pity baba because of his ill health and age, bit I don’t know anything about his legal crisis’’.
