From Rose Ejembi, Makurdi
A Makurdi Chief Magistrate Court presided over by Mrs Franca Yua on Monday heard the bail application of the Chief Executive Officer CEO of TAP, Terwase Agbem Paul and Mson Yaasa.
The accused persons were arraigned in court after they were accused of attempting to kidnap the Bursar of Joseph Tarka University of Agriculture Makurdi, Emmanuel Timothy, sometime in May.
According to the First Information Report (FIR), men of the Nigerian Police under the Operation Zenda crack team led by one Inspector Jude Idogbo, acting on credible intelligence, swung into action and effected the arrest of the accused back in May.
They were subsequently remanded at the Federal Correctional Center in Makurdi, the state capital.
However, the accused counsel, Terkura Damsa moved a motion for their bail during the sitting on Monday and the respondent counsel did not raise any objection to the application.
In her ruling, the Chief Magistrate who granted the accused bail in the sum of N200,000 and a surety in like sum explained that the bail was granted in accordance with section 36 of the 1999 constitution as amended.
Yua who noted that she granted the accused bail in the interest of justice, adjourned the case till July 14 for mention.
Speaking to journalists shortly after the court session, the accused counsel said even the respondents couldn’t challenge his application because it was sound.
He however urged journalists to stop the media trial of accused persons and allow the courts to do their job.