Ameh Ejekwonyilo
A Federal High Court in Abuja has threatened to grant bail to three suspected members of the dreaded Boko Haram sect due to lack of diligent prosecution by the federal government.
The trial judge, Justice Gabriel Kolawole, gave the warning yesterday when the Chief State Prosecution Counsel, Mrs. Jones Nebo, filed an application for an adjournment to enable her apply for a modification of the partial secret trial of the suspects.
At the resumed hearing, counsel to the 1st accused person, Mr. Hassan Liman, drew the court’s attention to the deliberate attempts being made by the prosecution counsel to frustrate accelerated hearing of the trial.
He said: “A further application for adjournment today will further delay the accelerated hearing. It is obvious that the prosecution is not interested in pushing this case forward.”
Liman urged the court to bend backwards and review its earlier order of March 7, 2014, which the court refused the accused persons bail, and admit the 1st accused person to bail on the condition that the accused persons would present themselves in court for trial.
Responding, counsels to the second and third accused persons, Chief James Ocholi, and Abdul Mohammed, respectively, adopted all the submissions made by Liman.
Ocholi said: “I urge the court to hold that the excuse by the prosecution is most untenable. I want to adopt in totality the submissions made by the 1st accused person’s counsel.”
The three accused persons; Dr. Mohammed Yunus, Musa Umar and Salami Abdullahi, were arraigned on an eight count charge of terrorism.
The matter was adjourned to May 14 for argument on the motion on notice, while June 9, 10, 24, 25 and 26 are for accelerated hearing and trial.
