Operatives of the Department of State Services (DSS) finally shepherded some supporters of Sunday Igboho to a courtroom, following repeated warnings by the judge.
The supporters were arrested during a raid of Igboho’s home on July 1, 2021. The DSS said it uncovered weapons inside the house during the raid.
However, journalists were barred from covering proceedings as the supporters filed into the courtroom on Monday.
The supporters had been moved from Oyo to Abuja following the raid.
Through their lawyer, Pelumi Olajemgbesi, the suspects had filed an application asking the court to “inquire into the circumstances constituting grounds of their arrest and detention since July 2, 2021, and where it deems fit admit applicants on bail.”
The Judge, Obiora Egwatu, had ruled that there was merit in the application and ordered the DSS to produce the applicants in court on July 29.
However, the DSS failed to produce the applicants in court on the date fixed.
On July 29, the judge restated his earlier order and adjourned the case for August 2.
However, only eight of the 12 suspects were brought to court on Monday, August 2.
Speaking to journalists immediately after the court session, Olajemgbese said the court has granted them leave to amend their processes.
We discovered that there are some errors in our document which we need to correct.
DSS did not come to court with all the 12 people arrested in Igboho’s house. They came here with just eight of them. Even when we visited the DSS facility, we were only allowed to see four of them,” Olajemgbese said.
The court has fixed August 4 for the continuation of the trial.
In a related development, Igboho’s trial in Bath in Republic continues apace.
