A magistrate Court 58 presided over by Magistrate Aminu Gabari has once again granted bail to a former commissioner of works in Kano, Mu’azu Magaji.
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Counsel to the accused, Garzali Datti Ahmed, moved the motion for the review of the bail terms granted earlier and prayed for the court to grant their application.
In the court ruling which granted Magaji bail on February 4, the magistrate has set conditions to be met for the bail.
The court had, however, granted him bail at the sum of N1million and two sureties in like sum who must either be a village head of Dan Sarauniya, a Hisbah Commander from Dawakin Tofa, or a Chief Imam.
However, court papers filed by Magaji’s lawyer for bail variation obtained by Daily Trust on Thursday indicated that the Magistrate told the lawyers afterwards that he meant the Chief Imam of Dawakin Tofa LGA not that of Dan Sarauniya village.
In an affidavit in support of the motion deposed to by Hamza Abdullahi Shariff, a litigation secretary in the firm of Magaji’s lawyer, the court was told that “the conditions stipulated are onerous and excessive to the defendant/applicant especially the issue of Chief Imam of Dawakin Tofa.”
It said, “That the Chief Imam of Dawakin Tofa is answerable to the District Head of Dawakin Tofa (Isma’ila Umar Ganduje) the biological elder brother to the complainant, same father, same mother.”
The court papers further revealed that when the said Chief Imam of Dawakin Tofa was contacted to stand as surety for Magaji, he declined and said he only receives instructions from the District Head.
The court was further told that all other Chief Imams in the local government declined to stand as surety except the Chief Imam of Dan Sarauniya village, where the defendant comes from.
The defendant thereafter appealed to the court to review the terms of the bail condition, saying as a family man with responsible grown-up children, his offspring could also stand as surety for him.
On Friday evening, the court granted their prayers following a review of the application of the bail terms to accept the Chief Imam of Dan Sarauniya village in place of that of Dawakin Tofa to stand as the surety.
However, the magistrate has restricted Magaji from any form of communication either through social, print or broadcast media pending the case is in court.
He was further instructed to pay for the windscreen of the vehicle of the correctional centre allegedly destroyed by Magaji’s supporters earlier and tender an apology to the correctional centre which his counsel said they will review as they don’t have knowledge of that.
The case has been adjourned to March 2.
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