Obiajulu Uja, the man who protested against the President-elect, Bola Tinubu onboard an Ibom Air Abuja-Lagos bound flight last Friday has been denied bail. He was denied bail by a Magistrate Court of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), on Tuesday. His counsel said that the Senior Magistrate Mohammed Abdulazeez Ismail, sitting at Zuba, Abuja, denied him bail because his application was premature. Ismail held that the exhibits attached to the application did not say the defendant was unfit to face trial but rather indicated he was of unsound mind. He also held that even though the constitution guarantees every person’s liberty, a court can deprive a person of their liberty based on health grounds. Citing the provisions of Section 35(1)(e) of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (as amended) and Section 278 of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act (ACJA), 2015, the Magistrate held that Uja cannot be granted bail. Ismail held that where the mental capacity of a defendant is an issue, the court has the duty to ascertain the medical situation of such a defendant, adding that the exhibits attached to Uja’s bail application raised the issue of his medical capacity. He subsequently turned down the bail application and ordered that Uja be held at the Kuje Correctional Centre of Nigerian Correctional Service. Uja was then asked to be taken to a government hospital by the head of the centre to ascertain mental capacity.
Court denies Anti-Tinubu Protester Bail
