A Federal High Court sitting in Abuja has granted bail to the 12 aides of Sunday Adeyemo, a Yoruba rights activist popularly known as Sunday Igboho, 34 days after they were arrested by the Department of State Services (DSS).
Justice Obiora Egwuatu, the presiding judge, granted bail to all the detained aides at a hearing on Wednesday.
DSS operatives had on July 1 raided Igboho’s residence in Oyo and arrested 12 of his supporters.
The arrested persons were subsequently moved to the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) where they have been in detention.
In a joint suit marked FHC/ABJ/CS/647/2021, at the Federal High Court, Abuja, on July 7, 2021, the detained persons through their counsel, Pelumi Olajengbesi, sought an order of the court “mandating and compelling the respondents to produce the applicants” to enable the court “inquire into the circumstances constituting grounds of their arrest and detention” since July 1, 2021.
They also prayed for an order of the court mandating and compelling the respondents to produce the applicants before the court and “show cause as to why the applicants should not be granted bail in accordance with the provision of section 32 of Administration of Criminal Justice Act 2015 and other extant laws in Nigeria”.
Speaking at the resumed hearing on Wednesday, Olajengbesi prayed the court to admit the Igboho aides to bail unconditionally.
“There is no need to continue to keep them with the respondents,” he said.
The DSS lawyer, I. Awo, told the court that he was not opposing the bail of eight of the applicants.
He, however, opposed the bail of the remaining four applicants (2nd, 12th, 5th, and 6th).
According to him, the four aides should not be granted bail in the interest of justice and national security.
He also stated that their investigation was currently ongoing and has not been concluded.
“The fear of the respondent is that if granted bail, they will not make themselves available for further investigation and possible prosecution,” Awo argued.
Olajengbesi, however, countered the DSS argument, saying that the Igboho aides have been detained by the DSS for 34 days and are yet to be charged to court for any offence.
He argued that their continued detention violated the provisions of the constitution and was an infringement on their fundamental human right.
Ruling on the bail application, Obiora Egwatu, the presiding judge, said it is clear that no charge has been preferred against the applicants and that they have been in detention since they were arrested.
He said the applicants have a right to liberty and the presumption of innocence until proven guilty.
He admitted the 1st, 3rd, 4th, 7th, 8th, 9th, 10 and 11th applicants to bail in the sum of N5 million and two sureties each.
“For the 2nd, 5th, 6th and 12 applicants, since no charge has been preferred against them, bail is equally granted to them in the sum of N10 million and two sureties in like sum.
“The sureties shall be resident in Abuja, provide means of identification, passport photograph, evidence of tax payment within 2 years and depose to an affidavit of means.
“One of the surety must be a civil servant in the employ of the federal government or any of its agencies on level 12 and above. He shall provide the original of his employment letter and promotion letter. The residence of the sureties shall be verified,” the judge ruled.
