Terrorism: Judge declines to admit Eze Ndigbo, Nwajagu, to bail

Justice Yetunde Adesanya of the Lagos State High Court in Tafawa Balewa Square (TBS) on Friday declined to grant bail to the Eze Ndigbo of Ajao Estate, Frederick Nwajagu.

The judge also referred to the seriousness of the terrorism allegation instituted against him, as being the reason for refusing to grant bail to the defendant.

The monarch was apprehended by the Department of State Services (DSS) over an alleged threat to invite members of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) to Lagos to secure the property of the Igbo people in the state.

This development made the Lagos State Government (LASG) file a charge designated LD/21505C/2023 with an insistence that the alleged offence offends the provisions of Section 403(2) of the Criminal Law of Lagos State, 2015.

The LASG further added that the offence violated Sections 12(a) (c), 18, 21 and 29 of the Terrorism (Prevention & Prohibition) Act, 2022.

Consequently, Nwajagu was arraigned on a nine-count charge bordering on attempting to commit terrorism, financing terrorism, participating in terrorism and meeting to support a proscribed entity.

Nwajagu pleaded not guilty to the charge and had applied for bail on July 25, 2023, on medical grounds and that he was not a flight risk.

In her ruling on the monarch's bail application, Justice Adesanya held that the court is constrained to refuse the bail application because of the seriousness of the offence allegedly committed by Nwajagu.

Instead, Justice Adesanya ordered an accelerated hearing of the case.

According to Justice Adesanya, "Based on the seriousness of the offence, the severity of the punishment and the proof of evidence before the court, the court is constrained to refuse the bail application.

“The application for an accelerated hearing is hereby granted”.

Justice Adesanya, however, directed the Correctional Centre officials to arrange for the defendant to visit a public hospital for treatment.

At the last hearing on the matter, counsel to the defendant, Mr E. C. Obiagu (SAN), prayed the court to grant bail to the defendant on medical grounds.

The SAN equally informed the court that the defendant is a widower and had six children and, therefore, would not jump bail.

Obiagu (SAN) had equally claimed that the defendant did not possess an international passport and would not be a flight risk, just as he added that the defendant was granted bail by a lower court but was unable to perfect the bail due to its stringent conditions.

In responding, counsel for the prosecution, Mr Jonathan Ogunsanya, prayed the court to refuse the bail application.

Rather, Ogunsanya asked the judge to grant an accelerated hearing of the case.

Among other things, Ogunsanya explained that the circumstances under which the defendant was granted bail at the lower court were different from the information filed against him at the High Court.

The judge adjourned until October 3, 2023, for trial.

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