Court grants Lawyer bail after months in custody for criticising Buhari

The Abuja Division of the Federal High Court, on Tuesday, August 18, 2020, granted bail to a legal practitioner, Emperor Ogbonna.

Mr Ogbonna was held in custody for six months by the Department of State Service (DSS) for criticizing President Muhammadu Buhari.

After listening to an application argued by Mr Ogbonna's lawyer, Chief Mike Ozekhome, Justice Taiwo Taiwo, granted the lawyer bail.

Ozekhome told the court that the DSS had since March 24, unlawfully detained his client for criticizing President Buhari and for his conclusion that citizen could revolt due to harsh living conditions unless the Federal Government provided a remedy.

Ozekhome contended that action of the secret service amounted to gross abuse of fundamental rights of the applicant, even as he urged the court to grant him bail on liberal terms.

He further urged the court to invoke constitutional provisions that presumed the Applicant innocent until proved guilty of any allegation against him.

Ozekhome maintained that the Applicant’s alleged act of criticizing the president was not an offence that could warrant his perpetual detention in DSS's custody.

Meanwhile, the Federal Government's lawyer, Mr Isah Abubakar, opposed the bail application on the premise that the applicant will escape justice in view of the gravity of his alleged offence.

Mr Abubakar urged the court to deny the bail request in the interest of national security.

However, in a bench ruling, Justice Taiwo, agreed with Ozekhome that the law presumed the applicant innocent until found guilty by a competent court.