AKWA IBOM CRISIS: Udoedehe gets bail, re-arrested

By IKECHUKWU NNOCHIRI
ABUJA – THE uncanny drama in the political landscape of Akwa Ibom State has assumed a more precarious dimension, as scores of armed police men, yesterday, whisked away the embattled gubernatorial candidate of the Action Congress of Nigeria, ACN, in the state, Senator John James Akpan Udoedehe, to an undisclosed location, shortly after he was released on bail by a Federal High Court in Abuja.

Action Congress of Nigeria, ACN, Governorship Candidate in Akwa Ibom State, Senator John Udoedehe at the Federal High Court, Abuja, yesterday, where he was arraigned over the recent political crisis in the State. Photo: Gbemiga Olamikan.

Udoedehe who had already spent eight days in detention before he was finally granted bail yesterday was re-arrested in the high court premises few minutes after he succeeded in perfecting the bail conditions handed to him by trial Justice Adamu Bello.

One of the police officers, who spoke to Vanguard on grounds of anonymity, maintained that he was re-arrested on the orders of “authorities from above.”

Arraignment in Akwa Ibom

Though the officer refused to disclose who ordered his arrest he, however, hinted that Udoedehe would soon be arraigned before a high court in Akwa Ibom State over fresh charges bothering on arson and murder.

Meantime, Justice Bello faulted the action of the Nigeria Police in charging the accused person to court over his alleged complicity in acts of treason, without adducing a corresponding proof of evidence in support of the allegation.

The judge ruled: “In allegation of commission of capital offence, there is need for attachment of the requisite proof of evidence that will help the court to ascertain whether a prima facie case has been established to warrant the applicant to remain in detention.

Whenever an accused is charged with murder or such serious offence like treason, there must be sufficient proof of evidence to justify the claim. The consideration is not whether the accused can be charged with a capital offence, but whether such charge can be sustained.

“Section 118 (1) of the Criminal Procedure Act, provides that person charged with offence punishable with death cannot be admitted to bail except by an order of a high court. Having examined the facts and arguments by parties in this suit, I will exercise my discretion in accordance with the provision of the law. It is not enough to parade the word treason without citing the necessary laws in opposition to an application for bail.

The complainant did not controvert or show the nexus between the accused person and the offences against him. I am satisfied that the applicant has made a compelling case to warrant the discretion of this court to his favour.

“Consequently, the applicant is hereby granted bail in the sum of N10 million. He is to provide one surety in like sum. The surety must be an owner of landed property within the jurisdiction of the Federal Capital Territory and must present the title deeds of the property to the Chief Registrar for authentication.

The applicant will also write an undertaking that he will not engage in any act capable of breaching peace in the state or anywhere in the country. Breach of any of these conditions will amount to revocation of his bail. In event that he is not able to fulfill all the conditions, the accused persons is to be remanded in prison custody.”

Court proceedings

Whereas the ruling was delivered around 10: 45 yesterday, the ACN candidate remained in the court room till exactly 4: 18 when he was forcefully dragged out by fierce looking police men, shortly after court proceedings ended.

The embattled ACN candidate got a vicious slap from a plain clothed police man who was later identified as an officer of the State Security Service, SSS, on allegation that he delayed in complying with a marching order handed to him by one of the security personnel that arrested him yesterday.

The armed policemen numbering over twenty, who had besieged the court premises with four vans, shoved Udoedehe into their waiting vehicle and zoomed off amidst cries and protests from his family members and party supporters who came to court yesterday with a view to celebrating his release.

The presence of the four Senior Advocates of Nigeria, SAN’s, who had represented the accused, was not even enough to deter the security men from effecting the arrest.

Speaking to newsmen, one of them, Chief Adeniyi Akintola, SAN, disclosed that they had earlier secured a court order yesterday, barring police from further arresting or harassing his client.

He insisted that the arrest was orchestrated by his political opponents in their futile bid to keep him in detention till after the election, adding that nothing would be left unturned towards not only securing his release but to also fight for an enforcement of his breached fundamental human rights.

It will be recalled that the High Court on March 25, declined to grant the applicant bail on the basis of an oral plea that was made before it by the defence counsel, Mr Edem Andem, shortly after he was arraigned over a four-count charge on treason. The court had maintained that it would not release him on bail pending when a formal application to that effect was filed before it.

The previous allegation slammed against the ACN candidate on which he was granted bail yesterday, attracts death penalty upon conviction.

His trial was at the behest of the Inspector General of Police, Mr. Hafiz Ringim, who accused him of conspiring with some persons presently at large, at Ikot Ekpene in Akwa Ibom state, to commit felony and treason by levying war against the state with an intent to intimidate and overawe the incumbent governor of the state, Godswill Akpabio.

Arguing his bail application, his lead defence counsel, Chief Kola Awodehin, SAN, relied on the decided case_law of Abiola Vs the State, reported in 1995, 1 NWLR, to insist that it was trite law that the accused person, having placed sufficient material for the consideration of the court, the onus shifts to the prosecution to show cause why he should not be granted bail.

The prosecution had through a counter affidavit it filed in court, opposed his bail application, even as it pleaded the trial Judge to allow Udoedehe to remain behind bars.

According to the police lawyer, Mr. R. E Nkem, “One issue we have raised for determination in this counter_affidavit is whether the accused/ applicant should be granted bail pending trial in view of the nature of the alleged offence and the severity of the punishment attached thereto”.

His contention was overruled by trial Justice Bello who went ahead and granted the applicant his short_lived bail, yesterday.

Comments are moderated. Please keep them clean and brief.

Please enable JavaScript to view the comments powered by Disqus.
blog comments powered by