On this Funke Akindele’s case, a simple lecture in Criminal Law will allow anyone to see they were charged for a crime that does not exist, and so even if they pleaded guilty, they pleaded guilty for a crime that does not exist.
The basic tenet of criminal law is “no law, no crime”, meaning that for a crime to exist, there must be a clearly stated law. Section 36(12), Nigeria’s constitution notes an act is not considered a crime if it is not contained in a written law. So oral declaration don’t count.
The popular case of R v Taylor also establishes that a crime an act committed or omitted in violation of public law either forbidding or commanding it. So for a crime to exist, there must be a law that specifies the actions that constitute the crime as well as the penalty.
Now look at the charge sheet, they were charged for disregarding the Lagos State Infectious Disease (Emergency Prevention) Regulation 2020. Please where is the Law that makes the regulation punishable under the Public Health Law? A charge sheet cannot do that. 
A charge sheet cannot make law. A charge sheet cannot amend the law. A charge sheet cannot do the work of the State House of Assembly and then choose that a regulation creates an offence under an already existing law of the state. That’s not how it works.
There has to be a law, passed by either the National Assembly or State House of Assembly that specifies the crime they committed and the penalties for that crime. The executive regulation despite all the provisions is not a law and CANNOT create an offence or prescribe punishment
I think even the prosecution realised this when drafting the charge sheet, and should probably at that point simply charged them under any other similar provisions in any other law. But this present charge sheet under which they were prosecuted does not stand on any law.
Now, while we may all criticize their actions and want them to be punished. It must be done under an existing law. You can clap today about the prosecution, I hope you clap when an executive uses a regulation to charge a political opponent of a grave crime in the future.
Summary: If you are going to charge any person of committing an offence before a court, charge the person based law(s) passed by either National Assembly or State House of Assembly that creates the Offence and prescribes the offence, not an executive regulation
