A magistrate judge, Amadu Issifu, on Thursday stood down a land litigation suit at the Nalerigu District court and expelled the plaintiff from the courtroom for appearing before him without a nose mask.

The judge even threatened to strike out the case and commit the complaint to a week in jail.

"I'm not going to tolerate this", the judge fumed.

"The issue of nose mask is very crucial. Why do you have to come to court without a nose mask. If he's detained for one week, any other person coming here without face mask will know the consequence, the judge who sounded angry raged further. What right do you have to appear before the court without a nose mask?"

The case of the plaintiff, who later identified himself as Big Adams, had been called by a court clerk in the court being presided over by Amadu Issifu who was acting in place of the substantive judge currently on leave.

But before the clerk could read out details of the case, the judge cut in and took on the plaintiff, threatening to send to jail for coming to his court without face mask.

The judge at a point paused his castigations of the plaintiff to ask if he had wanted to say something.

"What law do you have to do that? Yes, what explanation does he has?" the judge asked through an interpreter.

"My Lord, he is pleading for clemency that he will go and look for one", the interpreter responded.

The judge, nonetheless continued his admonition.

"But for some reason, I will just struck out his claim ; struck it out for being disrespectful to the court".

"We should even send him to prison. To appear before the court without a nose mask is such a grievous offence . Yesterday, 2,000 people died out of the covid in India alone. In Bolga, police court staff ,the judge all had to be quarantined because of just one person"

Then he stood down the case and asked the plaintiff to leave the courtroom to return on the next court sitting.

"So stand down the case. They should come next week, I'm not going hear it", the judge ruled.

The plaintiff in an interview with JoyNews said the judge was justified in his anger 'if you look at the impact of the virus around the world."

"His order to me is a good order, because I'm too sell nose masks. I even walk around with some in bag everywhere I go. But unfortunately, today I had a running stomach and that's how come I forgot to pick up my nose mask," the man who called himself a businessman explained.

"The example he cited in India made me to understand his anger and so I'm not much surprise at the way he addressed me, and I have no difficulty in accepting all the orders he gave. I will be here next week with a face mask".