The Federal High Court in Abuja has ordered the remand of 10 protesters linked to the #EndBadGovernance movement, who have been charged with treason. The order was issued by Justice Emeka Nwite following a plea from the defense counsel to grant bail, arguing that the defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty.
The federal government, through the Inspector-General of Police, filed the charges under case number FHC/ABJ/CR/454/2024 on August 30. PulseNets learned that among the 124 individuals arraigned, ten were identified, including Michael Adaramoye (also known as Lenin), Adeyemi Abayomi, Suleiman Yakubu, Opaluwa Simon, Angel Innocent, Buhari Lawal, Mosiu Sadiq, Bashir Bello, Nuradeen Khakis, and Abdusalam Zubairu.
These individuals are facing charges of treason, conspiracy to commit a felony, intent to destabilize Nigeria, and inciting mutiny, all of which are offenses under section 97 of the Penal Code. The charges stem from nationwide protests against economic hardship that took place between August 1 and August 10, during which some protests turned violent, leading to incidents of looting and vandalism in several states.
The defendants pleaded not guilty to the charges. PulseNets spoke to Marshall Abubakar, counsel for the first and third defendants, who argued that the Administration of Criminal Justice Act (ACJ), 2015, does not require a written bail application. He stated that the defendants were simply exercising their rights through peaceful protest and that the charges were unfounded. Abubakar also highlighted that some of the defendants had already been in custody for 28 to 30 days before a detention order was issued.
“We are applying under the fundamental legal footing, both judicial and statutory, from the authorities that this honourable court admits the first and third defendants to bail,” Mr. Abubakar told PulseNets.
Hamza Dantani, representing the ninth defendant, also urged the court to grant his client bail, citing serious health issues, including asthma. PulseNets learned that Deji Adeyanju, counsel for the sixth, seventh, and eighth defendants, echoed the plea, emphasizing that their clients were exercising their constitutionally approved right to protest.
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The prosecution, led by Simon Lough (SAN), strongly opposed the bail applications, citing the severity of the treason charges. He asserted that bail could only be granted under exceptional circumstances, which he argued were not demonstrated by the defense.
Justice Nwite subsequently ordered the remand of all 10 defendants in Kuje Correctional Centre and adjourned the case until September 11 for a ruling on the bail applications.
