Court reduces bail to N5m each for #EndBadGovernance protesters

Justice Emeka Nwite of the Federal High Court in Abuja has granted a bail variation for five #EndBadGovernance protesters, reducing their bail amount to N5 million each.

This decision comes after some of the defendants struggled to meet the original bail conditions.

The protesters, five of whom were among the ten initially remanded in custody, had been unable to secure a surety with landed property in Abuja, a requirement for their release.

Marshall Abubakar, counsel for the 1st, 2nd, and 4th defendants, highlighted the difficulty faced in fulfilling this condition.

Justice Nwite had initially set the bail terms on September 11, requiring N10 million each for all ten protesters, along with a surety in the same amount.

The surety had to be an Abuja resident with property in the city, whose documents would be deposited with the court’s registrar.

Both defendants and sureties were required to surrender their international passports and recent passport photos, while the sureties had to provide an affidavit of means.

After defence lawyers appealed the stringent bail conditions, particularly for the five protesters unable to meet them, the court reduced the bail sum to N5 million each.

The new conditions state that the surety must be a close blood relative, such as a parent or another relative residing within the jurisdiction, should the parents be unavailable.

The ten protesters, including Michael Adaramoye (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 the country. These charges fall under Section 97 of the penal code.

The Federal Government has accused the group of attempting to storm the seat of power, setting a police station ablaze, and injuring officers.

Additionally, the government alleges that the protesters incited the public, destroyed public property, and caused damage to a High Court complex and facilities of the National Communications Commission (NCC). All ten defendants have pleaded not guilty to the charges under the suit marked FHC/ABJ/CR/454/2024.

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