Police Re-Arrest ACN Gov Candidate In Court

There was pandemonium at an  Abuja Federal High Court today as 26 fully armed policemen on the orders of the Inspector General of Police, Hafiz Ringim, stormed the premises and re-arrested Senator James John Akpanudoedehe, who was standing trial on what the opposition believes to be a trumped up charge of treason.

The ACN stalwart was re-arrested after hours of altercations between his supporters and the police and whisked away at about 2.37p.m. in a blue Toyota Hilux vehicle with registration number  NPF 3035 C.
Justice Adamu Bello of a Federal High Court sitting in Abuja, this morning had earlier granted bail to Senator James John Akpanudoedehe. But no sooner  the  bail conditions were fulfilled than the police arrived. Senator James John Akpanudoedehe ran into the court for refuge, according to witnesses. His lawyers who tried to stop the re-arrest failed.The police boss was said to have been irked that the court granted Senator Akpanudoedehe bail despite his opposition.The court granted bail to the Action Congress of Nigeria, ACN, governorship candidate in Akwa Ibom State in the sum of N10 million with one surety who must reside within the court’s jurisdiction and be an owner of a landed property worth the bail sum (N10 million).The court also ordered that Akpanudoedehe must undertake not to cause any trouble in Akwa Ibom State or any other location within the country.Before granting the bail, the judge upbraided the police authorities for arraigning the Senator on a charge of treason without attaching any form of proof of evidence to the charge.According to Justice Bello, “the modus operandi in this case appears to be to have the accused person locked up before fishing for evidence. This modus operandi cannot be allowed to stand.”He slammed the police authorities over their opposition to Akpanudoedehe’s bail application and held that the onus is for a party to show through documentary evidence that an applicant will not show up for his trial if granted bail. This, the court noted, must be through proof of evidence, which was not attached to the charge.Consequently, the court relied on Section 118(1) of the Criminal Procedure Act, CPA, under which the bail application was brought in exercising its discretion in favour of the ACN governorship candidate.The ACN candidate was arrested in connection with the alleged arson said to have been committed by his supporters in Uyo. In the incident, over 100 vehicles and the campaign headquarters of President Goodluck Jonathan were burnt. After arresting the Senator, the police also declared wanted five other top leaders of the party in the state.

—Felix Nnamdi/ Abuja