Justice Emeka Nwite of the Federal High Court in Abuja has granted a bail variation for five #EndBadGovernance protesters on Monday, reducing the amount from N10 million to N5 million each.
According to Persecondnews, five of the 10 protesters, remanded in prison by the Federal Government, faced difficulties fulfilling the initial bail conditions, prompting a reevaluation of their bail terms.
Mr. Marshall Abubakar, the lawyer representing the 1st, 2nd, and 4th defendants, disclosed that some protesters were struggling to meet the bail conditions due to difficulty finding a surety with landed property in Abuja—a requirement for securing bail.
PerSecondNews recalls that on September 11, Justice Emeka Nwite granted bail to all 10 #EndBadGovernance protesters, with each defendant required to pay N10 million, bringing the total bail amount to N100 million.
He ruled: “The bail is hereby granted to the defendants in the sum of N10 million each with one surety in the same amount.”
The court insisted that the sureties should 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 who were unable to meet the requirements.
Following their application, Justice Nwite reduced the bail sum to N25 million in total for the five protesters requesting the variation.
The new conditions set by the court require each party to post a bail of N5 million, with one surety providing 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 trying to seize power, setting fire to a police station, and causing injuries to officers.
The Federal Government asserts that they incited the public against the government and destroyed public properties, such as a police station, the High Court complex, and National Communications Commission facilities.
The 10 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.
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