BY WILLIAM ATTAH, GOMBE – After spending about 67 days in prison custody over Facebook post against Governor Yahaya Inuwa, considered injurious and capable of inciting and causing public disturbance, a Gombe State High Court on Tuesday granted Bala Sani bail.
The accused, Bala Sani was arrested by the Police in Abuja on March 17, 2022 and taken to the Billiri Correctional facility (Prison), Billiri Local Government Area of Gombe State before he was charged to court presided over by Justice Abdulhamid Yakubu on March 19, 2022.
Sani, who was charged for posting injurious falsehood and inciting public disturbance over an incident that took place in October 2021, was later relocated to Gombe Prison after he was charged to court for smooth trial before he was granted bail on Tuesday, May 24, 2022.
The accused was earlier granted bail by a Magistrate Court with stringent conditions which he could not meet.
However, his defense counsel, Haruna Lukas, filed a suit reapplying for his bail and a review of the bail conditions before the State High Court to enable him enjoy his freedom while the trial last.
While granting the bail application, Justice Abdulhamid asked Sani to provide two sureties; one of which must be a blood relation while the second must be someone with good standing in the society and must come from his Akko Local Government Area of the State.
Sani’s Counsel, Luka Haruma, who spoke through Stephen Onimisi, after the sitting, said the Court ruling is another testament to the fact that the rights of human should be respected.
He said; “The constitution provides for the fundamental rights and liberty of every citizen and where these rights are being hijacked or trampled upon, it is the responsibility of the court to ensure that these rights are enjoyed by every citizen.
“Today, the bail conditions have been reviewed and he has been granted liberal terms and we hope to fulfill these conditions and help him to regain his freedom”.
He further said that every citizen has the right to freedom of expression, adding that Bala Sani was simply expressing his rights via a post on the Facebook on a Gombe State Government project in October last year.
He also explained that the charges against Bala Sani were similar to the charges against Senator Danjuma Goje’s social media aide, Adamu Yayari, which was also tried at a Magistrate Court in Gombe recently.
He described the charges as politically motivated, adding that Bala Sani’s case for instance, may be described as trump up charges, stressing that since the matter is still before a competent court of law, it is left for the court to decide on the matter.
