2 Boko Haram suspects granted bail

Posted by admin Boko Haram, Latest Politics Friday, July 1st, 2011

A Chief Magistrate Court in Bauchi State yesterday granted bail to two suspects who were charged for treason following their alleged involvement with the activities of the fundamentalist Muslim sect, Boko Haram.

Sa’adatu Nasiru Abubakar was charged with treason, inciting disturbance, joining unlawful assembly, mischief, causing grievous hurt, and for forcefully removing an armed robbery suspect from hospital along with one Haruna Garba, a brother of her husband, Nasiru Abubakar.

However, the Chief Magistrate, Mohammed Abubakar Mukhtar who presided over the case struck out the charges of treason out the charges, saying that the First Information Report, FIR, did not not link the accused persons with the offences.

After listening to the arguments by counsel to both prosecution and the accused persons, Mukhtar said, ‘’after we examined the case, the court has struck out charges of treason , inciting disturbance, joining unlawful assembly, mischief , causing grievous hurt, and the act of forcefully removing armed robbery suspects from the hospital”.

Counsel for the accused persons, Idris Jibo, had filed two applications praying the court to grant them bail as there was nothing in the FIR linking them directly to the alleged offences of Nasiru Abubakar who was still at large.

Chief Magistrate Mukhtar added,’’Counsel to the accused seeks for the bail of the accused and argued against the validity of the charges against the two suspects; that the charges on the Police FIR are linked to the principal suspect now at large and not the present accused persons’’.

He also said the FIR did not contain that the present accused are members of Boko Haram sect and the offences committed by the first offender Nasiru Abubakar and others, who are now at large cannot be transferred to his wife and brother.
Mukhtar further said that the other charges against the accused persons, including possession of prohibited fire arms, conspiracy to screen offender, if proven would attract 15 and a half years in jail , adding that the court had the discretion to grant them bail since such right was fundamental to them.

“The accused persons are hereby admitted to bail in the sum of N200, 000 each, with two sureties, one of which must reside within Bauchi metropolis and will deposit a Certificate of Occupancy, C of O, of a landed property as security for the bond,” he added.

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