9th May, 2019
Gbenro Adesina/Ibadan
Justice Mashud Abass of the Oyo State High Court has granted bail to the Chief Whip of the Oyo State House of Assembly, Hon. Olafisoye Akinmoyede, who was alleged to have been involved in the killing of late Hon. Temitope Olatoye representing Lagelu/Akinyele Federal constituency.
Olatoye was shot dead around Lalupon Motor Park Area of Lagelu, Ibadan during the March 9 Gubernatorial Election.
In the suit brought before him by the applicant, Justice Abass considered the action of the police to detain Hon. Akinmoyede as unlawful, unconstitutional and exhibition of arrogance, stressing that the practice of the police making arrest before investigation was improper.
Abass said that all actions of the police must be seen to have justification in law and that the fundamental right of the applicant must not be restrained by any technicality.
According to him, “The power of the police to arrest and detain is not in doubt but that the constitution stipulated that any person detained must be arraigned within 24 hours. The remand order obtained by the police from an Iyaganku Magistrate court had expired since April 4 and detaining the applicant beyond this period is flagrant disobedient to the constitution. Obedient to court order should be the responsibility of all who believe in the stability of Nigeria”.
The judge also held that the police had not provided any justification that would warrant the court not to grant bail to the applicant.
Justice Abass granted the bail application with a surety who is blood relation to the suspect with landed property worth N50 million and another surety, who should be a civil servant with grade level 14 or member of the State House of Assembly or Federal.
The ruling is premised on a suit instituted by Akinmoyede, through his counsel, Mr Michael Lana, seeking for the enforcement of his fundamental human right against the police for detaining him since March 11 without charging him to court.
Lana had urged the court to declare the continued detention of his client in police custody in Abuja as unlawful and a violation of his fundamental human right urging the court to grant bail to his client pending the arraignment of his client at the court of law.
Meanwhile, the counsel to the respondent, the Commissioner of Police was absent at the hearing. END