Court reviews bail conditions of Jones Abiri

A federal high court in Abuja has reviewed the bail terms and conditions it earlier granted to Jones Abiri, publisher of Weekly Source newspaper.

Previously, Abiri was granted bail after he was arraigned on a three-count charge bothering on alleged economic sabotage and terrorism in May.

As part of the bail conditions, Ijeoma Ojukwu, the trial judge, ordered the defendant to pay N100 million, and produce one surety in like sum.

She had said the surety must be the owner of landed property in Abuja.

However, on Monday, Samuel Ogala, Abiri’s lawyer, brought a motion praying the court for “an order varying the bail terms and conditions granted to the defendant by substituting the order that the surety must be an owner of a landed property within Abuja metropolis and must submit evidence of tax payment for 2016, 2017 and 2018 together with the original title documents of the property, with an order for the production of a civil servant.”

Ogala said his client does not reside in Abuja and therefore knows nobody that has a landed property in Abuja who would stand as a surety for him.

Fredrick Bekeobiri, Abiri’s cousin, arrived the court minutes after the judge demanded to see the surety before standing down the matter.

Bekeobiri is a grade level 14 civil servant with the ministry of power.

Bagudu Sani, the federal prosecutor, opposed the bail application in a counter affidavit, urging the court to discountenance it.

Ruling in favour of the defendant’s application, the judge ordered that the surety must depose to an affidavit of means commensurate with the bail sum and attach documents showing proof.

She also ordered him to submit title documents of landed properties which he said he had outside Abuja.

Abiri was previously arrested in 2016 on allegations of sponsoring militant activities.

He was accused of being the leader of the joint revolutionary council of the separatist group, Joint Niger Delta Liberation Force.

The publisher was also accused of threatening oil companies and demanding money from them.

He was granted bail in August 2018 when an Abuja magistrate court struck out a suit against him after being held in detention for two years.