They are accused of attempting to force their way into the seat of power, burning down a police station, and injuring officers.
By Deborah Hassan
365Daily – The Federal High Court in Abuja has reduced the bail conditions for five #EndBadGovernance protesters from N100 million to N25 million each.
Justice Emeka Nwite, who made the decision on Monday, October 7, 2024, had on September 11 granted bail to all ten protesters to the tune of N100 million.
The other five of the 10 #EndBadGovernance protesters met the original bail conditions.
The ten defendants – Michael Adaramoye, also known as Lenin, Adeyemi Abayomi, Suleiman Yakubu, Comrade Opaluwa Simon, Angel Innocent, Buhari Lawal, Mosiu Sadiq, Bashir Bello, Nurudeen Khamis, and Abduldalam Zubair were charged with treason, conspiracy to commit a felony, inciting mutiny, and attempting to destabilise Nigeria.
The offenses are said to be punishable under Section 97 of the Penal Code.
They are accused of attempting to force their way into the seat of power, burning down a police station, and injuring officers.
The Federal Government also claimed that the protesters incited the public against the government and destroyed public properties, including a police station, the High Court complex, and facilities belonging to the Nigeria Communications Commission (NCC).
Counsel for the 1st, 2nd, and 4th defendants, Marshall Abubakar, had informed the court that some of the protesters were unable to meet the requirement of sureties that must be residents of Abuja, own property in the city, and deposit their property documents with the court registrar.
The court also added that the sureties should swear to an affidavit of means, and in addition to the defendants, sureties were to submit their international passports and recent passport photographs to the registrar.
It ruled that the protesters should be held in custody until they were able to meet the bail conditions.
Following the defense lawyers’ appeal against the stringent bail terms, particularly for the five defendants were unable to meet the requirements, Justice Nwite reduced the bail sum to N25 million in total for the five protesters requesting the variation.
Each individual was required to post bail of N5 million with one surety in the same amount, who must be a close relative such as a father, mother, or another blood relative residing within the jurisdiction, if neither parent is available.