The Magistrate court sitting in Abuja on Tuesday, has ordered the remand of the Sahara Reporters publisher, Omoyele Sowore and four others at the Force CIID facility in Area 10, Abuja till January 8 for ruling on the bail application.
Sowore was arrested by the police for leading a protest against bad governance on New Year’s Eve in Abuja.
They subsequently had taken to a police unit infamously known as ‘Abattoir’ in the Lokogoma area of the FCT.
Sowore, who arrived at the Chief Magistrate Court sitting in Wuse Zone 2, Abuja wearing handcuffs on Tuesday morning.
Sowore on Monday, January 4, was arraigned alongside four others by the Federal Government on three charges of criminal conspiracy, unlawful assembly, and attempting to incite others.
Although they all pleaded not guilty to the charges, the prosecution alleged that the defendants were arrested on New Year’s Eve with placards calling for a violent revolution against President Muhammadu Buhari.
The court then ordered that they be remanded at Kuje Correctional Centre until the formal application for their bail today.
But the bail application suffered a setback on Tuesday after the prosecutor, Adama Musa, opposed the hearing of the application on the ground that Sowore was served with the application by 10.43 a.m. today in court contrary to the order of the court for the service to be effected on him before 4.00 p.m. yesterday.
The Prosecutor informed the court that he needs time to go through the application to enable him to respond appropriately.
Chief Magistrate Mabel Segun-Bello after listening to the argument of the prosecution stepped down the case for two hours to enable the Prosecutor to go through the application.
But later, a Chief Magistrate Court in Abuja has fixed 8th January, 2020 for ruling on the bail application.
The Court also ordered the defendants to be remanded at the Force CIID facility in Area 10 following complaints by Mr Sowore that they were denied food and medical attention at the Kuje Correctional Centre.
