ASSASSINATION CLAIM: Complainant turned accused, Melaye arraigned, granted N100,000 bail

A High Court of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) in Abuja was on Thursday besieged by protesters when Senator Dino Melaye was arraigned on two counts of giving false information about an assassination attempt on his life to the Police in April 2017.

The Federal Government had arraigned the Kogi West senator on the claims that he misleadingly incriminated the Chief of Staff to Governor Yahaya Bello of Kogi State, Mr. Edward Onoja David, in the alleged assassination attempt on him.

If found guilty, the offences were said to be punishable under sections 140 and 393 of the Peal Code Law, Cap. 89, Laws of Northern Nigeria, 1963.

However the senator pleaded not guilty to the two counts filed against him by the Office of the Attorney-General of the Federation on January 31, 2018.

Subsequently, his counsel, Mr. Rickey Tarfa (SAN), moved his bail application filed on February 22, 2018. The bail application was objected to by the prosecuting counsel, Mr. Shuaibu Labaran.

But the trial judge, Justice Olasunbo Goodluck, in her bench ruling, granted bail to the defendant after dismissing the prosecution’s opposition which she said was “inadmissible affidavit evidence.”

The trail judge granted bail to the defendant in the sum of N100, 000, with one surety, who must be a federal civil servant of at least Grade Level 14 in any federal parastatal or establishment.

The surety must also provide proof to be a resident of the Federal Capital Territory.

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11 senators, including Senators Ben Murray-Bruce and Shehu Sani, accompanied Melaye to the court.

Meanwhile, the protesters under the aegis of Coalition of Nigerian Youth Leaders (CNYL), who besieged the court premises held placards with inscription showing them in solidarity with Melaye.

The inscriptions on some their placards read, “No force can stop Dino Melaye”, “No one can kill the truth speak on Dino”.

 

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