February 10, 2010
The latest chapter in the frequent arrests and detention of Desert Herald’s Publisher, Mallam Tukur Mamu, continues to develop Sundry twists and turns, underscoring the general impression that there is more to it than meets the eyes. Indeed, at 1:25pm on Wednesday February, 10, 2010 the Bauchi magistrate court III where Mamu was being tried, had granted him bail in accordance with law, but unknown to him, his traducers had a shocker in store for him.
The latest chapter in the frequent arrests and detention of Desert Herald’s Publisher, Mallam Tukur Mamu, continues to develop Sundry twists and turns, underscoring the general impression that there is more to it than meets the eyes. Indeed, at 1:25pm on Wednesday February, 10, 2010 the Bauchi magistrate court III where Mamu was being tried, had granted him bail in accordance with law, but unknown to him, his traducers had a shocker in store for him.
In a curious twist of events, the prosecution police officers then stood up and told the court that they wanted to withdraw the case, and when the judge asked for the reason(s) behind their sudden request, they said it was to enable them re-arrest and take Mamu to Damaturu, Yobe State where they would supposedly continue with their investigations.
Reports reaching us as at Wednesday indicated that the police in the court where vehement that based on the orders they had received ‘from above’ they must re-arrest Mamu. We later gathered that the said “order from above” actually came from the AIG Zone 12, Bauchi, who is a party to the conspiracy to transfer Mamu’s case to Damaturu where, in their view, the judicial process could be easily manipulated to their satisfaction.
This is despite the fact that, according to legal experts, under the law a case can not be unilaterally withdrawn only for it to be “transferred” to yet another court, which for all intent and purpose, was what the prosecution was trying to do in Bauchi as at press time. It was also learnt that while the Judge reminded the police that they cannot just arrest Mamu like that without any warrant, they told the court that according to their orders, the warrant for the arrest of Mamu was on its way to the court.
Commenting on this curious development, Mamu remarked that the police refused to allow him out of the court premises, insisting that he had to wait for the arrival of the arrest warrant for them to arrest and take him to Damaturu. We were informed that it took the timely intervention of many lawyers in the court, who saw the police’s action as contempt of the court, for Mamu and his legal team to leave the court premises.
Our sources alleged that the Yobe State government has reportedly “mobilized” a war chest in the region of N50 million to enable their collaborators and the police at Zone 12 and force Headquarters’ execute their dastardly agenda. It may interest the general public to note that although the courts in Yobe are still on indefinite strike, the government wants the embattled publisher to be “tried” there at all costs. Meanwhile, the celebrated case has been adjourned to Monday February 15, 2010.
In a curious twist of events, the prosecution police officers then stood up and told the court that they wanted to withdraw the case, and when the judge asked for the reason(s) behind their sudden request, they said it was to enable them re-arrest and take Mamu to Damaturu, Yobe State where they would supposedly continue with their investigations.
Reports reaching us as at Wednesday indicated that the police in the court where vehement that based on the orders they had received ‘from above’ they must re-arrest Mamu. We later gathered that the said “order from above” actually came from the AIG Zone 12, Bauchi, who is a party to the conspiracy to transfer Mamu’s case to Damaturu where, in their view, the judicial process could be easily manipulated to their satisfaction.
This is despite the fact that, according to legal experts, under the law a case can not be unilaterally withdrawn only for it to be “transferred” to yet another court, which for all intent and purpose, was what the prosecution was trying to do in Bauchi as at press time. It was also learnt that while the Judge reminded the police that they cannot just arrest Mamu like that without any warrant, they told the court that according to their orders, the warrant for the arrest of Mamu was on its way to the court.
Commenting on this curious development, Mamu remarked that the police refused to allow him out of the court premises, insisting that he had to wait for the arrival of the arrest warrant for them to arrest and take him to Damaturu. We were informed that it took the timely intervention of many lawyers in the court, who saw the police’s action as contempt of the court, for Mamu and his legal team to leave the court premises.
Our sources alleged that the Yobe State government has reportedly “mobilized” a war chest in the region of N50 million to enable their collaborators and the police at Zone 12 and force Headquarters’ execute their dastardly agenda. It may interest the general public to note that although the courts in Yobe are still on indefinite strike, the government wants the embattled publisher to be “tried” there at all costs. Meanwhile, the celebrated case has been adjourned to Monday February 15, 2010.
googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('comments'); });
googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('content1'); });
googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('content2'); });