Court denies ‘lone anti-Tinubu’ protester bail

By Edith Nwapi

A Zuba Magistrate Court in Abuja refused to grant bail to Obiajulu Uja, the passenger debarked and handed over to the Police for making a sensitive statement about President-elect Bola Tinubu.

Uja was onboard an Ibom Air Abuja-Lagos bound flight when started the ruckus. It took the efforts of six airport security officers to evacuate him after he started the protest.

Following protocol, the police accused him of threatening violence and causing a breach of peace with his actions.

Ruling in the bail application filed by Uja, through his counsel, Senior Magistrate Mohammed Abdulazeez Ismail, sitting in Zuba, Abuja, held that the application was premature.

He held that the exhibits attached to the application did not say the defendant was unfit to fail trial but rather indicated he was of unsound mind.

Also, he also held that while the constitution guarantees every person’s liberty, a court can deprive a person of their liberty based on health grounds.

Citing the provisions of Section 35(1)(e) of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (as amended) and Section 278 of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act (ACJA), 2015, the Magistrate held that Uja cannot be granted bail.

He held that where the mental capacity of a defendant is an issue, the court has the duty to ascertain the medical situation of such a defendant.

He added that the exhibits attached to Uja’s bail application raised the issue of his medical capacity.

Subsequently, he turned down the bail application and ordered that Uja be held at the Kuje Correctional Centre of the Nigerian Correctional Service.

Furthermore, he ordered the head of the centre to take the defendant to a government hospital to ascertain his mental capacity.

He then adjourned until April 20 for a report and hearing.

NAN