A Chief Magistrate Court in Lafia has refused the bail applications of 38 women charged over a protest of the Supreme Court judgment on the Nasarawa gubernatorial poll.
The court fixed Thursday, January 25, for the hearing of the bail application for the women accused by the police of causing public disturbance and mischief.
The decision was made after the Chief Magistrate, Mohammed Abdullahi Lanze, listened to arguments presented by counsels to both the complainant and the defendants during the bail application proceedings.
The bail application, submitted on Friday, January 19, 2024 by the defense counsel, Ayiwulu Baba Ayiwulu, was rejected.
At the subsequent hearing, Ayiwulu argued on legal grounds, pleading with the court to show mercy by granting bail to the defendants.
On the opposing side, Counsel to the Commissioner of Police, Danjuma Allu, contended that the complainant had a statutory seven days to respond to the bail application, urging the court to grant him a short date to reply, in accordance with the provisions of the law.
Following these arguments, Lanze adjourned the sitting to Thursday for the hearing of the bail application for the 38 individuals.
Lanze ordered the Commissioner of Police to produce the defendants in court on the specified date for the hearing.
Responding to the court’s decision, Kefas Tiga, the Coordinator of the civil society group Community Initiative for Character Modeling and Entrepreneurship Development expressed dismay.
He described the situation as disheartening and reckless, particularly stating concerns about breastfeeding women, those with children, and others with health issues who were not granted bail despite the legal counsel’s application.
Tiga called upon civil society organizations to fulfill their responsibilities by questioning incidents that infringe upon the fundamental human rights of individuals in society, emphasizing that those arrested were not all part of the protests that began on March 19, 2023, and stressed that the demonstrations had been peaceful.
The 38 women were arraigned on charges of causing public disturbance, criminal conspiracy, mischief by fire, and unlawful assembly on Friday, 19th January.
They were subsequently remanded at the Lafia Custodial Center of the Nigeria Correctional Service.
The arrests stemmed from their peaceful expression of dissatisfaction over the Supreme Court’s decision that affirmed Abdullahi Sule as the Governor of Nasarawa State.
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