Bridget Patience: No bail for Kano woman’s “killers”
With the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN)
Five men who allegedly overpowered police officers at a Kano market and killed a Christian woman they believed insulted Prophet Mohammed have been dragged to court.
A Kano Magistrates’ Court, Thursday, denied them bail.
The men face the criminal charges of inciting violence, disturbance, culpable homicide, joint act and mischief.
The accused persons: Dauda Ahmed, Abdulmumeen Mustafa, Zubairu Abubakar, Abdullahi Abubakar and Musa Abdullahi, were charged with inciting, disturbance, culpable homicide, joint act and mischief.
Their alleged victim is Bridget Agbahime, 74. She was, on June 2, hacked to death at Kofar Wambai Market, Kano, over alleged blasphemy.
Presiding judge, Chief Magistrate Muhammad Jibril, in his ruling said the court, under Section 361 of the 1999 Constitution as amended, had the discretion to hear the bail application.
But it has no power to grant the accused persons bail, he said.
“Though, no material evidence to give the court, first information report is simply information. “It shows the jurisdiction of a court to admit an accused person to bail, only when there is no evidence to prove the accused person committed an offence.’’
He said that the court had no power to grant the five suspects bail, though the court is convinced that investigation had been completed in the case diary sent to the State Ministry of Justice for legal advice.
Jibril, therefore, ordered the five suspects to be remanded in prison custody and adjourned the case to Aug.18, for further mention.
However, Gambo Abdulsalam, the Defence Counsel for all the suspects, told the court that he would forward the bail application ruling to the High Court, Kano.
He said this was to enable him seek for their bail, since the court has the right to grant them bail..
