The Enugu state police command during the week arrested 140 members of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) for allegedly organising unlawful proces
The Enugu state police command during the week arrested 140 members of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) for allegedly organising unlawful procession. Ebere Amaraizu, the command spokesman, said they were caught displaying ‘proscribed items’ on the streets and ‘chanting inciting songs against the nation’ with plans to overthrow Buhari.
The police obtained statements from the suspects, charged them to court on Thursday and remanded 140 members of the proscribed Indigenous Peoples of Biafra (IPOB) over alleged treason. When the charge was read, the defendants pleaded not guilty.
One of the defense counsels, Osita Abalu, applied for their bail on the grounds that there was no evidence to back up the charge. Counsel to the 107 defendants, F.C. Okeke, told the court that it was ridiculous for the prosecution to claim that the defendants attempted to overthrow President Muhammadu Buhari.
Mr Okeke said the defendants were arrested on their way to a burial and wondered how that could translate to over throwing the government. The counsel described the charge as trumped-up and meant to deny the defendants of their fundamental rights. Mr Okeke urged the court to grant them bail in the most lenient means.
Mr Okeke said the prosecution deliberately brought the matter to the Magistrates Court just to punish them. “An accused person cannot be brought to a court when such court has no jurisdiction to entertain the matter just to punish them. “That is the essence of the ACJL of Enugu State. The law does not want an innocent soul to suffer.
In her ruling, Mrs Chioke declined jurisdiction in the case and remanded the defendants in Enugu Prisons and urged the defense team to make application in the appropriate court. The magistrate ordered the release of the four vehicles to their owners on bond and on the provision of proof of ownership and particulars. “The charge the defendants are remanded for is treasonable but the prosecution did not list any exhibit of weapon of warfare against them. The only document against them before the court is the charge sheet. This looks to me like a trumped-up charge,” Mrs Chioke said.
Recall that the defence headquarters had in 2017 tagged IPOB a terrorist organisation. A federal high court in Abuja subsequently proscribed the group, and declared its activities acts of terrorism.
