A Federal High Court in Abuja has granted bail to ten #EndBadGovernance protesters who were arrested and detained on charges of treason, among other offenses.
Justice Emeka Nwite, who presided over the case on Wednesday, set the bail at N10 million each, along with one surety in the same amount for each defendant.
In his ruling, Justice Nwite emphasized that Nigeria’s criminal justice system has specific guidelines for both prosecutors and defendants. He agreed with the argument made by the counsel for the 1st, 2nd, and 4th defendants, Abubakar Marshall, who stated that “anybody charged with a criminal offense must be presumed innocent until proven guilty.” Based on this principle, the judge granted the bail application for all ten defendants.
Justice Nwite stated, “I have carefully considered the submission of the counsel on both divides. I hereby grant the defendants bail notwithstanding the crime. The bail is hereby granted to the defendants applicant in the sum of N10m each and one surety in like sum.”
The defendants include Michael Tobiloba Adaramoye (aka Lenin), 28 years old; Adeyemi Abiodun Abayomi (aka Yomi), 34 years old; Suleiman Yakubu, 28 years old; Opaluwa Eleojo Simeon, 50 years old; and Angel Love Innocent, the only female among them, 51 years old.
The Nigerian police filed charges against the protesters last Friday as the government intensified its crackdown on the #EndBadGovernance protests, which took place in major cities across the country from August 1 to 10. The charges allege that the ten protesters, in collaboration with Andrew Martin Wynee (aka Andrew Povish), a 70-year-old British citizen, “called on the military to take over the government from President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.”
The prosecution also accused the defendants of inciting citizens to destabilize Nigeria through the protests. Additionally, the government accused the protesters of acting in concert with Mr. Wynee to wage “war against the state” by attacking and injuring police officers and damaging public property. According to the charges, the protesters allegedly burned police stations, the High Court Complex, NCC Complex, Kano Printing Press, Government House Kano, Kaduna Investment and Promotions Agency Office, NURTW Office, and “several other buildings.”
The police stated that the offenses are contrary to Section 410 of the Penal Code (Northern States) Federal Provisions Act. The court’s decision to grant bail allows the defendants to continue their legal battle outside of detention, as they await further proceedings.
