Civil servant arraigned for exposing Kogi gov’s Abuja residence

A 32-year-old civil servant, Mr. Johnson Musa, was on Friday
dragged before a Lokoja Chief Magistrates’ Court for allegedly
threatening and exposing the Abuja residence of Governor Yahaya
Bello of Kogi State.

Musa, an indigene of Dekina Local Government Area of the state,
was alleged to have taken aerial pictures of the governor’s Abuja
residence with a drone camera and posted them on social media.

He was said to have posted the pictures with the caption, “This
building is owned by an individual in Kogi, where hunger is the
first name, in less than one year.”

The prosecuting counsel, Mohammed Abaji, a senior legal officer
with the state Ministry of Justice, said Musa was arrested on
Thursday by men of the Department of State Services.

The action, Abaji said, had put the governor and his family
under threat and potential harm to their property, urging the court
to take cognisance of the offence of cyberstalking against the
accused.

Musa pleaded not guilty to the offence and his counsel, Williams
Aliwo of Crystal Chambers, orally applied for his bail in line with
section 36(5) of the constitution and section 341(2) of the
Criminal Procedure Code.

Aliwo submitted that any order to remand the accused in prison
custody would amount to punishing him ahead of the proof of his
guilt, adding that the accused would not jump bail or try to escape
justice if the bail conditions were granted.

But the bail application was vehemently opposed by Abaji on the
grounds that an investigation into the matter was ongoing aside
from the fact that the penalty attached to the offence is 10 years’
imprisonment or an option of a minimum of N25m fine.

In his ruling, the Chief Magistrate, Alhassan Husaini, said by
virtue of Section 36(5) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic
of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended), the presumption of innocence of the
accused was constitutionally guaranteed.

Husaini granted the accused bail in the sum of N500,000 with two
sureties in like sum, adding that the sureties must be resident
within the jurisdiction of the court.

To allay the fears of the prosecution counsel over the
inconclusive investigation, he ordered that a register of
attendance be opened at the DSS office for the accused to report on
Monday and Thursday.

Husaini adjourned the case to August 17.

TheNigerialawyer recallls that a Nigerian citizen and
Abuja-based blogger, Comrade Johnson Musa was arrested on Wednesday
night in Lokoja by the Department of State Services, DSS for
allegedly sharing a post published by an online blog “THE NIGERIA LAWYER” on a whatsapp group called
‘Kogi in Focus’ against the Kogi state governor.

A 32-year-old civil servant, Mr. Johnson Musa, was on Friday
dragged before a Lokoja Chief Magistrates’ Court for allegedly
threatening and exposing the Abuja residence of Governor Yahaya
Bello of Kogi State.

Musa, an indigene of Dekina Local Government Area of the state,
was alleged to have taken aerial pictures of the governor’s Abuja
residence with a drone camera and posted them on social media.

He was said to have posted the pictures with the caption, “This
building is owned by an individual in Kogi, where hunger is the
first name, in less than one year.”

The prosecuting counsel, Mohammed Abaji, a senior legal officer
with the state Ministry of Justice, said Musa was arrested on
Thursday by men of the Department of State Services.

The action, Abaji said, had put the governor and his family
under threat and potential harm to their property, urging the court
to take cognisance of the offence of cyberstalking against the
accused.

Musa pleaded not guilty to the offence and his counsel, Williams
Aliwo of Crystal Chambers, orally applied for his bail in line with
section 36(5) of the constitution and section 341(2) of the
Criminal Procedure Code.

Aliwo submitted that any order to remand the accused in prison
custody would amount to punishing him ahead of the proof of his
guilt, adding that the accused would not jump bail or try to escape
justice if the bail conditions were granted.

But the bail application was vehemently opposed by Abaji on the
grounds that an investigation into the matter was ongoing aside
from the fact that the penalty attached to the offence is 10 years’
imprisonment or an option of a minimum of N25m fine.

In his ruling, the Chief Magistrate, Alhassan Husaini, said by
virtue of Section 36(5) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic
of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended), the presumption of innocence of the
accused was constitutionally guaranteed.

Husaini granted the accused bail in the sum of N500,000 with two
sureties in like sum, adding that the sureties must be resident
within the jurisdiction of the court.

To allay the fears of the prosecution counsel over the
inconclusive investigation, he ordered that a register of
attendance be opened at the DSS office for the accused to report on
Monday and Thursday.

Husaini adjourned the case to August 17.

TheNigerialawyer recallls that a Nigerian citizen and
Abuja-based blogger, Comrade Johnson Musa was arrested on Wednesday
night in Lokoja by the Department of State Services, DSS for
allegedly sharing a post published by an online blog “THE NIGERIA LAWYER” on a whatsapp group called
‘Kogi in Focus’ against the Kogi state governor.