The petition was against one CSP Benjamin Ugwui for alleged extortion and demand for a refund.
Justice Ngozi Oji of the Enugu State High Court has granted bail to Ikechukwu Uduji and Ikechukwu Okolie, who were remanded in prison after their petition against a Divisional Police Officer.
The petition was against one CSP Benjamin Ugwui for alleged extortion and demand for a refund.
SaharaReporters gathered that the duo were granted bail on February 20, 2024, after spending about four months in prison.
A human rights activist, Comrade Charles Arukwe, who has been championing the campaign for their release, confirmed to SaharaReporters on Tuesday that the duo had been released.
He said, "Yes, they have been released. In short, they were granted bail on February 20, 2024, by Justice Ngozi Oji of the Enugu State High Court.
“However, the State Director of Public Prosecution has told us that there was no prima facie evidence in the police file submitted to support the attempted murder charge against them. So we are waiting for the ministry to file anything before the court.”
SaharaReporters in January reported how a missing case file delayed the bail of Uduji and Okolie.
It was reported that while the Registrar of the Magistrate Court which remanded the duo claimed to have dispatched the file to the office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP), the office reportedly denied receiving the said file.
SaharaReporters reported on December 13, 2023, that the Enugu State Commissioner of Police, Kanayo Uzuegbu, ordered the arrest and arraignment of one Uduji, 23 and Okolie, 38 after they filed a petition against the DPO in charge of Awgu Police Division, CSP Ugwui and the DCO for alleged extortion.
The duo had demanded a refund of over N90,000 allegedly extorted from them.
SaharaReporters earlier Okolie and Uduji were arrested on October 29, 2023.
It was learnt that the DPO had given Okolie some numbers to call to dissociate himself from his petition alleging extortion.
They were detained at the Awgu Police Station after they were tortured and brutalised for two days and on October 31, they were arraigned before Magistrate P. U. Igwilo of the Awgu Magisterial District at Mgbidi on charges of attempted murder and serious assault on four policemen.
In a five-count charge marked No: MGB/71c/ 2023 which was obtained by SaharaReporters, the police commissioner claimed that the two accused persons had conspired to kill four policemen on October 30 at about 1800hrs along General Hospital Road, Awgu within Awgu Magisterial District.
The duo, according to the charge sheets, didn't take their plea over an argument that the court lacked jurisdiction to entertain the case.
Consequently, Magistrate Igwilo ordered that they should be remanded in prison custody and that their case file should be sent to the DPP.
The case was subsequently adjourned.