The Buhari-led regime, the AGF and the police authorities had made several attempts to get at the activists.
For carrying out a peaceful protest on the night of December 31, 2020, the President Muhammadu Buhari-led regime, the Attorney General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami, and the police authorities have executed their plot to strangle democracy and silence human rights’ activist, Omoyele Sowore, and four others.
After days of foot-dragging, a Magistrates’ Court in Wuse, Zone 2, Abuja, on Monday granted Sowore N20million bail and the four others N1million bail each.
This is coming after the police spent days to keep the activists in detention and frustrate their bail application in court.
The presiding Magistrate, Mabel Segun-Bello, on Monday gave the ruling, adding that the five activists must not leave Abuja, and that Sowore particularly must appear before the registrar every Monday and Friday.
She then granted the 2nd, 3rd, 4th and 5th defendants a bail of N1million each and one surety in like sum for all of them. She granted Sowore a bail of N20million.
The Buhari-led regime, the AGF and the police authorities had made several attempts to get at the activists by using the police prosecution to frustrate their bail application.
On Friday, there were protests on the court premises after the police authorities refused to produce the human rights’ activist, Sowore, and the others in court in an attempt to frustrate their bail application.
Segun-Bello had on Wednesday ordered the activists to be remanded at the Force Criminal Investigation Department, located at Area 10.
She had also scheduled 11am on Friday, January 8 to rule on the bail application filed by their lawyer, Marshal Abubakar.
But it was gathered that police refused to bring the activists to court following a signal that the case file had been transferred from the FCT Commissioner of Police to the Deputy Inspector-General of Police in charge of the Force Criminal Investigation Department.
SaharaReporters also learnt that there was a document from the Office of the Attorney General of the Federation, directing the case file to be transferred to the Directorate of Public Prosecutions.
The defence counsel, Marshal Abubakar, also confirmed the shenanigans by the Nigerian government to frustrate the bail application and continue to keep the activists indefinitely.
He explained that there was no lawyer from the office of DPP and that the police also refused to bring the defendants to court.
Abubakar described the move as a plot by the Nigerian government and the police to subvert justice.
The President Muhammadu Buhari's regime, the Attorney General of the Federation and the Nigeria police displayed their disregard for the rule of law by failing to produce the activists in court on Friday against the magistrate’s directive.