Court reduces bail for five protesters to N5m each

The Federal High Court in Abuja presided over by Justice Emeka Nwite has granted a bail variation for five #EndBadGovernance protesters.

At proceedings on Monday, the court reduced their bail amount to N5 million each. This move comes after the initial bail conditions were deemed stringent.

Five of the ten #EndBadGovernance protesters, previously remanded in prison by the court, had struggled to meet the original bail conditions.

Counsel for the 1st, 2nd, and 4th defendants, Marshall Abubakar, revealed that some of the protesters have been unable to secure a surety with landed property in Abuja, which is one of the bail requirements.

Justice Nwite had on September 11th, initially granted bail to all ten protesters, totaling N100 million.

In his ruling, Nwite said, “bail is hereby granted to the defendants in the sum of N10 million each with one surety in the same amount.”

The court required that the sureties be residents of Abuja, own property in the city, and deposit their property documents with the court registrar.

Additionally, the sureties were required to swear to an affidavit of means, and both the defendants and sureties were to submit their international passports and recent passport photographs to the registrar.

Justice Nwite ruled that the protesters would remain in custody until they met the bail conditions.

The defence lawyers later appealed the stringent bail terms, particularly for the five defendants unable to meet the requirements.

Following their application, Justice Nwite reduced the bail sum to N25million in total for the five protesters requesting the variation.

The new conditions set by the Court are for N5 million bail each, with one surety in the same amount.

The surety must be a close relative, specifically a father or mother, or another blood relative residing within the jurisdiction if neither parent is available.

The ten defendants: Michael Adaramoye, also known as Lenin, Adeyemi Abayomi, Suleiman Yakubu, Comrade Opaluwa Simon, Angel Innocent, Buhari Lawal, Mosiu Sadiq, Bashir Bello, Nurudeen Khamis, and Abduldalam Zubair are facing six counts, including treason, conspiracy to commit a felony, inciting mutiny, and attempting to destabilise Nigeria, all offences punishable under section 97 of the penal code.

They are accused of attempting to force their way into the seat of power, burning down a police station, and injuring officers.

The Federal Government also claims they incited the public against the government and destroyed public properties, including a police station, the High Court complex, and National Communications Commission facilities.

The ten defendants, in the suit marked FHC/ABJ/CR/454/2024, pleaded not guilty to the charges brought against them by the Inspector General of Police.