Court to decide on lone anti-Tinubu protester’s bail application April 11

A Magistrate Court sitting at Zuba area of Abuja, Federal Capital Territory (FCT), on Thursday, reserved ruling on the bail application filed by Obiajulu Uja, who was debarked and handed over to the police for making sensitive statement about President-elect, Bola Tinubu onboard an Ibom Air Abuja-Lagos bound flight last Friday, till Tuesday, April 11.

Senior Magistrate Mohammed Abdulazeez Ismail fixed the date for ruling on the application after listening to arguments from Uja’s counsel and the prosecuting counsel, saying that the adjournment was in the interest of justice.

The Magistrate held that “The court needs to come up with something tangible that can stand the test of law. The court has to consider all arguments canvassed by both parties.”

Earlier, counsel for the defendant, Remi Ifeanyi Agwu, had told the court that the bail application, marked M/02/2023, was brought pursuant to Section 36(6)(b) of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (as amended) and Sections 158, 162 and 163 of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act (ACJA), 2015.

The application, according to him, sought an order of the court to admit Uja to bail pending the determination of the matter, adding that the defendant had reasonable and reliable sureties willing and ready to take him on bail on liberal terms.

While submitting that bail is at the discretion of the court, Agwu urged the court to exercise this discretion judiciously in the interest of justice and grant the defendant bail in most liberal terms.

Responding, the prosecuting counsel Umo Inah, urged the court to decline the bail application in line with Section 35(1)(e) of the Constitution, which grants the court liberty to seize the liberty of the defendant.

According to the prosecutor, the defence exhibited documents to show that Uja was of unsound mind, adding that going by the law, the defendant was not qualified to be paraded among a community of people.

He told the court to deny the defendant’s bail “because he will be a danger to society”.

Before adjourning to Tuesday next week, the magistrate urged the Nigerian Correctional Service where Uja was remanded to avail him urgent medical attention while in its custody.

Uja ran into trouble last Friday when he was said to have openly protested against the emergence of Asiwaju Bola Tinubu as the President-elect while onboard a Lagos-bound Ibom Air flight from Abuja and was subsequently debarked and handed over to the police.

He was then arraigned by the police last Monday.

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