The Federal High Court in Abuja will decide on September 11 whether to grant bail to ten #EndBadGovernance protesters who appeared in court on Monday.
They face serious charges, including treason, inciting mutiny, and attempting to destabilize Nigeria.
The ten protesters are Michael Adaramoye, also known as Lenin, Adeyemi Abayomi, Suleiman Yakubu, Opaoluwa Simon, Angel Innocent, Buhari Lawal, Mosiu Sadiq, Bashir Bello, Nuradeen Khamis, and Abdulsalam Zubairu. They are being tried before Justice Emeka Nwite.
In addition to these defendants, the Inspector-General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun, has named a British citizen, Andrew Wynne, aka Andrew Povich, as a defendant.
According to the charge sheet marked FHC/ABJ/CR/454/2024, the protesters are accused of several offenses. The charges include “treason, destabilising the country, intimidating the President, and destroying the NCC in Kano,” among others.
The IG alleged that from July 1 to August 4, 2024, the defendants conspired to commit treason and other felonies. “Between 1 July 2024 and 4 August 2024, at Karshi Abuja FCT, within the jurisdiction of this court, while acting in concert and with intent to destabilise Nigeria, (defendants) conspired together to commit felony, to wit: Inciting to mutiny and thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 96 and punishable under Section 97 of the Penal Code,” said Egbetokun.
The IG further stated that from July 1 to August 10, 2024, the protesters, in collaboration with Wynne, waged war against the state by attacking police officers, burning police stations, and damaging various buildings, including the High Court Complex and NCC Complex. This was said to be in an effort to intimidate the President and destabilize Nigeria.
The charges against the defendants include violations of Sections 95, 96, 97, 410, and 416 of the Penal Code, as well as the Penal Code (Northern States) Federal Provisions Act.
The court will review the bail applications and decide on the next steps in the case on September 11.
