A Federal High Court sitting in Ibadan on Tuesday rejected the bail application of five suspects in a case of alleged participation in acts of insecurity and terrorism.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Olumide Okesola, Emmanuel Olatunji, Adeleke Adewale, Usman Umar and Lawal Buhari are facing a 14-count charge.
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The charge borders on conspiracy, unlawful dealing, selling of weapons, aiding and abetting of terrorism.
In his ruling, Justice Ekerete Akpan held that the offences instituted against the defendants were so serious that the case bordered on national security which the court considered highly.
Citing various sections of the law to support his decision, Akpan said Okesola, Olatunji, Adewale, Umar and Buhari remained a security risk until the case was concluded.
He added that any attempt to grant them bail was not in the overall interest of the country.
”An action that poses a great threat to our collective security shall not be taken lightly and this is the stand of the court in refusing the accused persons’ application,” the judge stated.
Akpan adjourned the matter until July 1 for continuation of trial.
It would be recalled that the defendants who had pleaded not guilty to the charges were arrested by the Department of State Services (DSS) operatives sometime in January in Ibadan.
Shedding more light on the matter, the prosecutor, Mr T.A. Nurudeen, said the DSS acted on intelligence reports from concerned Nigerians.
The reports showed that the defendants were engaged in acts of terrorism by supplying arms and ammunition to terrorist groups.
Nurudeen added that the secret police apprehended the defendants in possession of 1,005 AK47 bullets.
He added that the offences contravened section 20 of the anti-terrorism act 2022.