Olamide Thomas, who is accused of threatening President Bola Tinubu’s son Seyi on social media, had his bail application denied by the Federal High Court’s Abuja Division on Monday.
This occurred when Ms. Thomas’s attorney, Seprebofa Oyeghe, informed Justice Emeka Nwite that the case had been postponed until his client’s bail application was considered.
Victor Okoye, the attorney for the inspector general of police, informed the court that he had just received the bail application and would require some time to react. In order to give him time to react properly, he requested that the court postpone the case until Tuesday.
Mr. Okoye and Mr. Oyeghe were at odds.
The attorney remembered that as soon as the motion was submitted, the court postponed the matter for trial and the hearing of Ms. Thomas’ bail on December 20, the day she was arraigned.
According to him, the defense made sure the bail request was submitted on December 20 and served to the police on the same day. The attorney stated that Mr. Okoye’s submission caught him off guard.
However, Mr. Nwite verified that the police had received the certificate of service of the bail application from the court file.
The police’s approval of the bail procedures is documented in the court file. Are there any differences between the people who handle the matters and those who receive processes in your office? “Because the endorsement here indicates that it was given on December 20th, and today is December 30th,” the court inquired.
I didn’t see it, my lord. “I only noticed it this morning,” he replied.
“How can we make sense of this?” the judge said.
However, Mr. Okoye pleaded with the court to postpone the case until the next day so he could submit his counter-affidavit.
Reluctantly, Mr. Oyeghe accepted the prosecution’s request.
Ms. Thomas, who had not yet been taken to court by the Suleja Correctional Center’s officials, showed up at the court and entered the dock.
Mr. Nwite postponed the case to Tuesday so that Ms. Thomas may apply for bail and have her trial.
Under President Bola Tinubu, who came to power on a platform of upholding Nigerians’ fundamental freedoms in contrast to his predecessor Muhammadu Buhari, who was notorious for repressing human rights during his eight years in office from 2015 to 2023, attacks on Nigerians based on their remarks on social media have escalated.
