The Federal Government had arraigned Abiri before the Abija magistrate court on a one-count charge bothering on criminal intimidation. However, on Monday the Chief Magistrate, Chukwuemeka Nweke, struck out the charge.
An Abuja magistrate court has described as criminal the prolonged detention of Jones Abiri, Publisher and Editor-in-Chief of Weekly Source Newspaper.
The court also struck out the charges brought against him.
The Federal Government had arraigned Abiri before the Abija magistrate court on a one-count charge bothering on criminal intimidation.
However, on Monday the Chief Magistrate, Chukwuemeka Nweke, struck out the charge.
In an application filed on September 5, Abiri’s lawyer, Samuel Ogala, had asked the Abuja court to transfer the case to Bayelsa State, where the alleged offence was committed.
He argued that his client has the right as provided by the Administration of Criminal Justice Act (ACJA0 to apply for a transfer of his case to another court when jurisdiction is in question.
He said: “In this case, the element of the alleged crime all happened in Bayelsa State and this is the Federal Capital Territory. So he cannot be charged under the Penal Code, it has to be taken to Bayelsa State where he can be charged under the Criminal Code, that is why we had to file for the court to transfer the matter to the state.”