The national leadership of a pro-democracy and human rights group, Take It Back Movement (TIB), has announced a plan for a mass protest at the Delta State Ministry of Justice and National Judicial Commission (NJC) Headquarters, Abuja, over the continued detention of its Delta State Chapter Coordinator, Ighorhiohwunu Aghogho.
The TIB national leadership said Aghogho has been in detention for calling for a probe of child trafficking allegations despite being granted bail by Justice Okon Abang of the Federal High Court in Warri and surety earlier provided to meet bail conditions.
SaharaReporters had reported that after three weeks, officials of the Federal High Court, Warri Division, commenced a verification exercise to fulfil the conditions of the bail granted to Aghogho, who has been detained for over 11 months.
It was gathered that the verification exercise failed after officials of the Federal High Court, Warri Division, according to TIB, wrote the Delta State Ministry of Land and Survey and the Prosecutor in the case, J.A. Amahi Esq, from the Delta State Ministry of Justice to verify Aghogho’s surety's landed property with Certificate of Occupancy (C of O).
The TIB stated that in the course of the verification exercise, the surety was allegedly threatened by the Prosecutor to withdraw his intention to stand in surety for Aghogho “which is a new strategy by the Prosecutor and the Complainant to make it appear that Aghogho was unable to meet the bail condition and to ensure his continue detention in prison custody.”
The Movement said that the surety after being threatened, hired the service of a lawyer to retrieve his documents including the C of O he earlier submitted to the Registrar of the Federal High Court, Warri Division.
“The Movement had vowed to resist any attempt to use the court of law as an instrument of injustice where a Defendant will be detained in Prison custody for a period longer than necessary until he negotiates and submits to the will and conditions of the Prosecutor and Complainants who are hell-bent to cover their tracks.”
Aghogho was first arraigned on holding charge at the Magistrate Court in Asaba in June 2022 and remanded at the Federal Correctional Centre in Ogwashi-Uku in the state.
He was later arraigned at the Federal High Court, Warri Division on October 12, 2022, on six counts bordering on cyberstalking in a suit marked FHC/WR/92C/2022. He was remanded at the Federal Correctional Centre, Warri on the same date.
It was gathered that on the next adjourned date, June 1, 2023, counsel for Aghogho, Kunle Edun, is expected to move the Notice of Preliminary Objection he filed on February 2, 2023, on the instruction of the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice (AGF), Abubakar Malami (SAN), to dismiss what TIB described as frivolous charges filed against Aghogho for want of jurisdiction.