Justice Abang Okon of the Federal High Court, Warri Division has granted bail to the Delta Take-It-Back Coordinator, Ighorhiohwunu Aghogho, after spending 10 months in prison.
The Court in a bench ruling on Wednesday, April 26, 2023, granted the unopposed oral application made by the counsel for the defendant, Kunle Edun Esq.
Addressing the court, Edun submitted that he had just been briefed on the matter and he intended to make two oral applications.
“My Lordship, I intend to make two oral applications; one is to seek the permission of the court to use Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) to resolve the case and the other is to orally apply for the bail application for the release of the defendant who has been in prison custody for ten months," Edun submitted.
The Court asked for the response of the prosecuting counsel, J. A. Amahi Esq on the submission of the defense counsel.
“I have no objection, my Lord,” the prosecuting counsel responded.
However, the court drew the attention of the defence counsel to why the bail application filed on October 17, 2022 by the defendant in person was struck out on October 24, 2022 and why the court ordered the defendant to file a fresh bail application on the following, which is pending to date.
"The bail application filed by the defendant in person on 17/10/2022 was struck out because the defendant created a column for a Judge to sign on the application and he could not explain the law empowering him to do so. The bail application is very incompetent and was struck out," Justice Okon said.
The defence counsel immediately applied orally to withdraw the bail application filed by the defendant in person on October 25, 2023, which is still pending and applied orally for a fresh bail application.
Again, the prosecuting counsel did not oppose the oral application made by the defence counsel.
“The oral application made by the senior counsel withdrawing the bail application filed by the defendant in person on 25/10/2022 is hereby granted and the bail application filed on 25/10/2022 is hereby struck out," the court ruled.
Delivering the bench ruling on the oral application admitting the defendant to bail, Justice Okon ruled as follows:
"The defendant was first arraigned on holding charges at the Magistrate Court Asaba on 8/6/2022 and remanded at the Federal Custodial Centre, Ogwashi-Uku. He was further arraigned in this court on 12/10/2022 on six count charges bordering on cyberstalking and was remanded at the Federal Correctional Centre, Warri on the same date.
"According to the prosecutor, he allegedly published this information bordering on alleged child trafficking on the internet, which he knew to be false, and the purpose of causing hatred, ill-will and injury to one Joshua Omorere, Mrs Oghenekevwe Agas, Fred Ugheni, the former Chief Judge of Delta State, Hon. Justice Marshal Umukoro (retired), the immediate past Chief Justice of Nigeria, Hon. Justice I. T. Mohammed (retired), and Delta State Commissioner of Police, CP Ari Mohammed Ali.
"This court adjourned for accelerated hearing on this case for 24/10/2022, 25/10/2022, 26/10/2022 and 27/10/2022 respectively. The court sat on these dates except 27/10/2022 where the court adjourned to 24/11/2022 and the case suffers adjournment until today, 26/4/2023."
He continued, "The oral application made by the senior counsel requesting this court to admit the defendant to bail is hereby granted.”
“The defendant is admitted to bail in the sum of 5 million naira surety in like sum and this surety must have a landed property with Certificate of Occupancy (C of O) and he will put down an undertaken that the defendant will not make any publication on the internet with regards to the complainants during the pendency of this case and beyond or any citizen of Nigeria which he knew to be false, and the purpose of causing hatred, ill-will and injury to them," Justice Okon added.
The case was adjourned to May 1, 2023, for further cross-examination of the PW1.
SaharaReporters had earlier reported how Justice Okon fixed March 28, 2023, to hear the Notice of Preliminary Objection filed on February 2, 2023, by the defence counsel to dismiss the frivolous cyberstalking charges filed against Aghogho.
Surprisingly, the Notice of Preliminary objection challenging the jurisdiction of the court was not moved nor mentioned by the defence counsel and not heard on April 26, 2023, by Justice Okon when the matter came up for hearing.
The matter suffered a long adjournment from October 2022 to March 2023 at the instance of the court.