Twenty-eight women and others arrested last Friday for alleged breach of public peace during a peaceful protest in Lafia by the price have been denied bail despite a plea by the council to the accused.
It would be recalled that the women who have been on peaceful protest against the election of Governor Abdullahi Sule since March last year were arrested, charged to court and taken to the remand following an alleged order by the police.
When the matter came up Monday for hearing, the Chief Magistrate Court sitting in Lafia, the Nasarawa State capital, fixed Thursday this week for hearing of the bail application of the thirty-eight people arrested for allegedly causing public disturbance and mischief by fire after the Supreme Court judgement on the state governorship election petition.
The Court presided by Mohammed Abdullahi Lanze decided after listening to arguments by counsels to the complainant and the defendants on the bail application.
Recalled that the bail application was filed on Friday last week by counsel to the defendants Ayiwulu Baba Ayiwulu but was not granted by the Chief Magistrate.
At the resumption of hearing on the bail application, counsel to the defendants, Ayiwulu Baba Ayiwulu relied on points of law to support his plea for the court to temper justice with mercy by granting the defendants bail.
Counsel to the Commissioner of Police, Danjuma Allu on his part argued that the complainant had seven days to reply to the bail application and urged the court to grant him a short date to reply in accordance with the provision of the law.
After listening to counsels, the Chief Magistrate, Mohammad Abdullahi Lanze adjourned the case to Thursday for the hearing of the application for the bail of the thirty – eight persons.
He also ordered the Commissioner of Police to produce the defendants in court on the said date for the hearing of the bail application.
Speaking to Journalists, a Coordinator of a civil society group, Community Initiative for Character Modeling and Entrepreneurship Development, Kefas Tiga described the matter as disheartening whereby some breastfeeding women with their children and other sick women are being held despite an application by legal counsel for the court to grant them bail.
He called on other civil society to wake up to the challenges being faced by women by questioning some happenings in the country that negate the fundamental human rights of some individuals in the society.
“These people who were arrested not all of them are part of the protests that started on 19 March 2023 and these protests have been peaceful”, Tega stated.
It would be recalled that on Friday 19, January, 38 women, and others were arrested and arraigned before the Chief Magistrate Court 3 and later remanded at the Lafia Custodial center of the Nigeria Correctional Service for allegedly causing a public disturbance, criminal conspiracy, mischief by fire and unlawful assembly.