Kirkby man’s court case for police cell graffiti was ‘ridiculous’ waste of time

Chima Ogbonnia drew on a mattress and a wall while he was held at Mansfield police station on the night of January 16, Mansfield Magistrates’ Court heard.

Peter Bettany, prosecuting, said no further action was taken over the incident which led to his arrest, and no cost was given for the repairs.

The court heard he has “quite a number of previous convictions”, but was last in trouble in 2019, for a public order offence, and before that in 2015.

Ogbonnia, of Victoria Road, admitted criminal damage when he appeared at Mansfield Magistrates Court, on Tuesday.

The 42-year-old, who represented himself, said boredom drove him to draw the graffiti, but he offered to clean it up afterwards.

“All the other officers were happy for me to clean it up with soap and water,” he said, “but one officer was adamant I had to come to court

“Me being here is ridiculous for such a trivial thing. I go to work to pay taxes. The police are wasting your time and my time.

“They could have been out there looking for real criminals. There are rapists out there. There are murderers.”

He said he has made a complaint about being assaulted when he was arrested.

Sentencing, magistrates told him: “You can rest assured we have listened very carefully about what you had to say in your mitigation.”

Ogbonnia was ordered to pay £20 compensation.