Ibinabo Fiberesima, embattled Nigerian former beauty queen, has urged the Supreme Court to set aside the judgment of the Lagos Division of the Court of Appeal, which last Friday affirmed the five years’ imprisonment imposed on her by a Lagos State High Court.
Fiberesima was convicted of manslaughter in holding that her reckless driving was responsible for an auto crash, which claimed the life of one Dr. Giwa Suraj on the Lekki-Epe Expressway.
The actress is also asking the Court of Appeal to release her on bail pending when the Supreme Court would hear and determine her appeal against the appellate court’s judgment.
In support of her bail application before the Court of Appeal, her representative, Victor Eden, said Fiberesima had recently undergone a surgery for breast cancer and was still under the watch of her doctors.
Eden said Fiberesima’s surgical wound hasn’t properly heal, adding that the actress was afraid that her life might be endangered if kept in the prison custody.
“Her (Fiberesima) wound has not fully healed and as such she is afraid that her continued stay in the prison may endanger her life as she will not have access to special medical attention. It will be in the interest of justice and for her health and safety for the appellant to be admitted to bail pending the hearing and determination of the appellant’s appeal before the Supreme Court.” Said Eden.
Justice Deborah Oluwayemi of the state high court had in 2009 convicted Fiberesima of manslaughter, holding that her reckless driving was responsible for an auto crash, which claimed the life of one Dr. Giwa Suraj on the Lekki-Epe Expressway.
During Fiberesima five years imprisonment sentencing, Justice Oluwayemi overruled the decision of a Lagos State Magistrates’ Court which initially ordered her to pay a 100,000 Naira fine for the offence. The judgement was upheld by the Court of Appeal.
Fiberesima, through her lawyer, Nnaemeka Amaechina, approached the Supreme Court to challenge the appellate court judgment.
In their appeal, Amaechina described the appellate court’s judgment as unreasonable and one that found no support in law in view of the evidence presented before it.
He contended that the Appellate Court erred in law when it affirmed the judgment of the high court that set aside the N100,000 fine imposed on Fiberesima and sentenced her to five years imprisonment.
Amechina also contended that the Court of Appeal erred in law when it affirmed the inference by the high court that the magistrate’s court misused its discretion by giving Fiberesima N100,000 fine option for the manslaughter offence.
