Alleged General Alkali’s murder: Court admits 20 to bail in sum of N1m each

A Plateau High Court sitting in Jos, on Monday, admitted 20 men accused charged with the alleged murder of killing late Gen. Idris Alkali to bail in the of N1 million each

The 20 accused persons are charged with five counts of criminal conspiracy, obstruction of security officials to carry out lawful duty, concealing of information and trying to stop the military from retrieving a dead body.

Trial judge, Justice Daniel Longji, admitted the accused persons to bail after counsel to the accused persons, Mr George Ezere and C.O Okoro, in a written application prayed the court to grant their clients bail stating that no matter how weighty a charge was, an accused person is presumed guilty until otherwise proven.

The judge while granting the bail, said that the offence was bailable.

Longji ordered the accused persons to produce one surety each in like sum, adding that the sureties must be community leaders that can be traced and a means of livelihood.

Meanwhile, the judge ordered that the remaining eight accused persons charged with culpable homicide be remanded in prison custody to enable him study the submissions of bail submitted before him by the counsels stating that he needed to respond on point of law as the charge was a capital one.

He thereafter adjourned the matter until Jan. 25, 2019, for continuation of hearing on the bail application.

Earlier, Ezere and Okoro, in their prayers, stated that it was unlawful to keep the accused persons in prison for over 3 months for a bailable offence adding that the liberty of the accused persons was at stake.

However, the prosecutor, Plateau Director of Public Prosecution, Gidelia Fomyol, prayed the court not to grant the accused bail stating that in as much as the liberty of the accused was at stake, the law must be followed.

Fomyol said that application has fallen short for the court to grant bail. (NAN)