In his ruling on the bail application, Justice Ishaq Bello held that the accused person was entitled to bail as the government did not oppose the bail request.
He said, “The gesture of the Iranian Embassy has gone down well with the state; hence the absence of opposition to the bail application strengthened my belief that there exists a safe ground for releasing the accused person on bail. Consequently, the accused is hereby granted bail.”
The judge also premised his decision on the fact that represented by the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Mr. Mohammed Adoke (SAN), did not filed any counter affidavit in opposition to the application, saying that the development confirmed that there was a safe ground for his release.
But the judge had admitted the Iranian to bail on the sum of N20m with two sureties.
According to the judge, sureties must be officials of the Iranian Embassy and must be citizens of Iran.
Aghajani had on December 16, through his lawyer, Mr. Chris Uche (SAN), approached the High Court for his bail relying on Section 341(2) and (3) of the Criminal Procedure Code; and Section 35 (4) 39 of 1999 constitution.
He also prayed that the bail be sustained pending his trial by the court.
Moving the application for his client’s bail, Uche told the court that the accused was presumed innocent until proven guilty, saying that he was entitled to bail, which was his fundamental right.
He added that the accused person would not jump bail and would not in any way jeopardise the proceedings of the court or any on-going investigation.
Aghajani, Ali Usman, Abbas Jega, Aliu Oroji Wahako and Muhammed Tukur Umar had been arraigned by the Federal Government before an Abuja Magistrates Court over their alleged involvement in the arms importation scandal.
State Security Service had also informed the court that the quantity and sophisticated arms allegedly imported into the country by the diplomat and three other international businessmen could sink a whole nation in just three hours.
The accused persons were ordered to be remanded in the SSS custody till January 31, 2011 to enable the security operatives had easy access to them in their investigation.
Chief Magistrate Hafsat Sadiq Soso, who ordered their remand asked the SSS to allow them access to their lawyers, doctors and their family members in the interest of justice and fairness.
They were accused of importing 13 20 feet containers loaded with assorted calibers of prohibited firearms into the country between July 7 and 15 year.
The sophisticated firearms comprised 60mm mortal, 120m He mortals, 81mm mortal 107mm rocket and 23mm spit for gmzu 23.
But the four accused persons were also said to have between October 12 and 25 conspired and imported another 13 20 feet containers containing similar arms to Apapa port in Lagos, Nigeria for onward journey to Banjul, capital of Gambia.
According to government, the alleged offences contravene section 27 of the Firearms Act Cap F28 laws of the Federation of Nigeria.
The diplomat had refused to allow the court to take his plea as he insisted on getting legal clearance from the Iranian Embassy in Nigeria while other accused persons pleaded not guilty.
Lawyer to the SSS, Mr. Moses Idakwo, told the court that liberty of the accused persons have been subsumed under national security in which they were arraigned.
He argued that the alleged offences were of international concern as the United Nations was waiting for the outcome of the trial of the suspects.
Idakwo informed the court that the arms were so huge in quantities that they could sink a country in just three hours.
He urged the court to treat the bail issue with caution for now.
The court however adjourned the case till January 31 2011 for mention.
Meanwhile, a United Nations team will visit Nigeria in the third week of January over the arms shipment from Iran intercepted by security agents at the Apapa Ports in Lagos on October 25.
A top Nigerian diplomat who did not want to be named because of the sensitive nature of the issue said the team would arrive Nigeria mid-January.
“The eight-man UN panel of experts on Iran will arrive Nigeria tentatively on January 18 or 21 for a three day working visit,” the official told NAN in New York.
The official said the panel’s earlier request to visit Nigeria this month was not cleared from Abuja due to ‘administrative reasons.’
He noted that the Federal Government had “written them (UN) requesting that they choose between those two dates in January.”
The eight-man panel was appointed in November by the UN Secretary-General, Mr. Ban Ki-moon, to monitor members-states’ implementation of the world body’s sanctions against Iran.
A Nigerian, Maj-Gen. Ishola Williams (retd.), is a member of the panel, which is being coordinated by Ms. Salomé Zourabichvili of France.
Other members of the panel expected to visit Nigeria are Jonathan Brewer from the United Kingdom, Kenichiro Matsubayashi from Japan and Jacqueline W. Shire from the United States.
Also on the team are Elena Vodopolova from Russia, Christof Wegner from Germany and Wenlei Xu of the Peoples Republic of China.
The eight-man panel will meet with officials of some key federal agencies involved in the investigation and will also inspect the seized cache of arms.
Nigeria reported Iran to the UN Security Council in November after security agents intercepted weapons hidden among building materials on a ship docked in Lagos in October.
An Iranian man and three Nigerians had been accused of attempting to import the arms. Iran is under UN Security Council sanctions, including an arms embargo, over its nuclear programme. The UN panel, which monitors states’ implementation of the sanctions, will report on whether the weapons seized in Nigeria is a violation of the sanction.
Source:Pounch
No comments:
Post a Comment