Human rights activist and former presidential candidate, Omoyele Sowore, has been released from the Kuje Prison after meeting the bail conditions granted by a Magistrate Court sitting in Kuje, Abuja.
Sowore, alongside Nnamdi Kanu’s Special Counsel, Aloy Ejimakor, Kanu’s younger brother, Prince Emmanuel Kanu, and 11 other protesters, were arrested by operatives of the Nigeria Police Force over #FreeNnamdiKanuNow protest held in the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, last week.
The protesters were arraigned before Magistrate Abubakar Umar Sai’id on Friday on charges bordering on unlawful assembly and disturbance of public peace.
In his ruling, Magistrate Sai’id granted the defendants bail in the sum of ₦500,000 each, with the condition that they present a verified National Identification Number (NIN).
The court also directed them to submit their three-year tax clearance certificates and passports as part of the bail requirements.
Following the perfection of the bail terms, Sowore and the others were released from Kuje Prison on Monday (today).
Sowore’s arrest on Thursday occurred shortly after he left the Federal High Court in Abuja, where he had attended a separate proceeding.
Earlier SaharaReporters reported that an awaiting trial inmate, identified simply as Dung Bulus Pam died overnight at the Kuje Correctional Center of an undisclosed ailment.
Although the inmate’s cause of death has not been determined, prison sources told Saharareporters that he was put in Kuje by the same police prosecutor, Musa Adama who also had arraigned 13 #FreeNnamdiKanuNow protesters and human rights activist, Omoyele Sowore.
“Adama is notorious for framing poor Nigerians and sending them to prison to await trial. Several of them never get their cases resolved for years. One of them died today,” the source had lamented.
SaharaReporters had reported that Nnamdi Kanu’s Special Counsel, Aloy, was recuperating according to his lawyer, Barrister Maxwell Opara, who visited the ailing lawyer dumped in Kuje prison.
Ejimakor was arrested and manhandled by the police for participating in #FreeNnamdiKanuNow peaceful protest last Monday in Abuja.
SaharaReporters had reported that Aloy Ejimakor had fallen ill at the Kuje Prison, Abuja, 24 hours after the presiding judge, Abubakar Umar Sai’id, a Senior Magistrate at Kuje refused to sign the bail bond for his release.
SaharaReporters had learnt that Ejimakor was unable to meet with his counsel, Barrister Maxwell Opara, during the routine visit to the facility.
Ejimakor was arrested on Monday with 12 others including Nnamdi Kanu’s younger brother, Prince Emmanuel Kanu, by the Nigerian police during the #FreeNnamdiKanuNow protest.
They were thereafter teargassed, beaten and then transferred to the CID unit of State Police Command before being detained overnight at the notorious SARS cell known as Abattoir.
On the following day, they were driven by the police all the way to the Kuje Magistrate without their lawyer and summarily remanded by the Senior Magistrate, Abubakar Umar Sai’id, who reportedly had a deal with the police to keep them incarcerated.
Also on Friday, human rights activist and two times presidential candidate, Omoyele Sowore, was arraigned with Ejimakor and others.
The same Magistrate granted bail and then disappeared without signing off on their bail bond.
Credit: Sahara Reporters