Justice Emeka Nwite of the Federal High Court sitting in Abuja has granted a stringent bail conditions to 10 Nigerians arrested over the #EndBadGovernance protest held from August 1 to August 10, 2024.
The 10 defendants re-arraigned before Justice Nwite on Wednesday are Michael Tobiloba Adaramoye (aka Lenin), 28 years; Adeyemi Abiodun Abayomi (aka Yomi), 34 years; Suleiman Yakubu, 28 years; Opaluwa Eleojo Simeon, 50 years; Angel Love Innocent, (the only female among them), 51 years.
Other defendants are Buhari Lawal, male, 21 years; Mosiu Sadiq, male, 28 years; Bashir Bello (aka Murtala), male, 51 years; Nuradeen Khamis, male, 47 years; and Abdulsalam Zubairu, male, 37 years.
The trial judge granted each of the defendants a N10million bail bond with one surety each with landed properties in Abuja.
Last week Monday, the Nigerian government arraigned 10 protesters arrested in connection with last month’s #EndBadGovernance demonstrations on charges of war plotting and an attempt to topple President Bola Tinubu.
The police arraigned them at the Federal High Court in Abuja, where they pleaded not guilty to all six charges.
The Nigerian police filed the charges as the government cranked up its clampdown on protesters and the organisers of the #EndBadGovernance protests held in major cities around the country from 1 to 10 August.
According to the charges, the 10 protesters, allegedly acting in concert with Mr Wynee, incited mutiny by calling on the military “to take over the government from President Bola Ahmed Tinubu”.
The prosecution also accused the defendants of inciting citizens to destabilise Nigeria through the protest.
The defendants also face another count of conspiring with their alleged conspirators to commit treason, an offence of taking up arms against the state.
In another grievous allegation, the government accused the protesters of acting in concert with Mr Wynee and others to wage a “war against the state”.
According to the charges, the protesters did this by attacking and injuring police officers and torching police stations, the High Court Complex, NCC Complex, Kano Printing Press, Government House Kano, Kaduna Investment and Promotions Agency Office, NURTW Office and “several other building”.
This offence is said to be contrary to section 410 of the Penal Code (Northern States) Federal Provisions Act.
The 10 defendants have continued to pleaded not guilty to all the counts.
