An asylum-seeker who called gardai white racist scum was fined £200 at Dublin District Court yesterday.
Mr Adesoji Bnakanthony (23), originally from Nigeria, who is currently appealing a three-month jail sentence for a disturbance he caused in a refugee processing centre, was fined in his absence for breach of the peace and being drunk in Parnell Street on April 22nd last.
Last May, a court heard how he stripped off his shirt in the Department of Justice centre in Lower Mount Street and shouted "kill me, kill me" in protest at not having been given any money. He told the court then: "I have a right to protest to get what I want."
Yesterday, he failed to turn up in the same court. It heard that, as two detectives were speaking to the driver of a car in Parnell Street on April 22nd last, Bnakanthony stood on the pavement shouting "white racist scum".
Det Garda Kevin Stratford said when he went over to talk to Mr Bnakanthony, he continued this abuse. He was asked for his Aliens' Registration Card but produced a driving licence which he refused to allow gardai examine.
When told he was going to be arrested, he ran into a nearby shop where some people tried to prevent him from being taken away until gardai arrived.
Judge Timothy Lucey said Bnakanthony clearly was drunk. He imposed fines totalling £200 and ordered he serve five days in prison in default of payment.