Court orders detention of lawyer, 4 others for cyberbullying, extortion

By Ikechukwu Nnochiri

Abuja—The Federal High Court sitting successful Abuja, yesterday, ordered the detention of a lawyer, Ahmed Abdulrahman, and 4 others arraigned for allegedly cyberbullying a serving senator, Shehu Umar.

Justice Rita Offili-Ajumogobia, who gave the order, directed that the defendants beryllium remanded astatine the Force Criminal Investigation Department, FCID, Area 10, Abuja, until November 10, pending the determination of their bail applications.

Other defendants successful the complaint filed by the Inspector-General of Police, IGP, are Daure David, Ishaq Muhammed, Abdulrashid Musa, and Nasiru Abubakar. They were accused of blackmailing Senator Umar, who chairs the Senate Committee connected National Security and Intelligence. The 11-count complaint against them borders connected cyberbullying, beforehand interest fraud, and extortion.

All the defendants, however, pleaded not blameworthy erstwhile the charges were work to them successful unfastened court.
Following their plea, defence counsel, Mr. Affis Matanmi, urged the tribunal to assistance them bail, drafting the judge’s attraction to the information that the archetypal suspect is simply a ineligible practitioner and solicitor of the Supreme Court.

Stressing that the charges contained bailable offences, Matanmi argued that his clients would not interfere with the proceedings oregon effort to power witnesses. He further noted that the constabulary had earlier granted administrative bail to the archetypal defendant, adding that, arsenic a lawyer, helium understood the consequences of jumping bail.

However, prosecution counsel, Mr. Victor Okoye, opposed the bail application.

He told the tribunal that soon aft the lawyer was granted administrative bail, helium became progressive successful 2 different cyberbullying cases and featured prominently successful 5 of the 11 counts present earlier the court.

Okoye argued that though the archetypal suspect is simply a confirmed ineligible practitioner, helium does not merit immoderate preferential treatment, arsenic neither the Administration of Criminal Justice Act (ACJA), 2015, nor the 1999 Constitution (as amended) grants immoderate peculiar privilege to lawyers accused of transgression offences.

After proceeding arguments from some sides, Justice Ajumogobia ordered that the defendants beryllium remanded astatine the FCID. She besides directed the defence counsel to record a further affidavit and a reply connected points of instrumentality to code the “weighty allegations” contained successful the prosecution’s counter-affidavit.