A Federal High Court sitting in Abuja, on Thursday, April 27, rejected the bail application of suspected terrorists’ negotiator, Tukur Mamu.
Justice Inyang Ekwo who ruled on the case, held that the application was without merit and that the applicant failed to provide sufficient materials to move the court to exercise its description in his favour.
The Judge said he would have to consider other issues before taking a decision on the defendant’s claim of the Department of State Services being unable to address his health challenges.
According to him, where the custodian lacked the medical facility to take care of the medical condition of the defendant, but is capable of ensuring that the defendant has access to medical facility suitable for his medical condition, the court would not grant the bail.
He said where the defendant willfully rejects the medical facility given to him by his custodian merely for the fact that such facility is not up to the standard that he expects, then, he has no good medical grounds for application for bail.
Ekwo noted that the defendant must understand that his medical care is at the expense of the state and must be reasonable in his demands. He also pointed out that the evidence before the court shows that after Mamu declined the DSS medical services, he was taken to Arewa Specialist Hospital and Diagnostic Center, Jabi by the security outfit.
The Judge insisted that the hospitals are sufficiently capable of handling the medical condition of the defendant and that it was able and willing to take responsibility for the treatment of Mamu. It was also stated that the DSS ensured that Mamu had access to his daily medication for the management of his pre-existing health condition as well as ensuring access to adequate tests and treatments when necessary.
He further averred that in exercising his discretion on the application for bail on allegations contained in a charge sheet punishable with imprisonment for a term exceeding three years, “the discretion of the court to grant bail will not be exercised in favour of the defendant where any of the conditions in Section 162 of the ACJA 2015 is established.”
Ekwo then concluded by saying that considering the nature of the offence on the charge sheet and the fact that Mamu did not rebut an allegation of breach of terms of bail, he was persuaded by the grounds given by the DSS for the court not to exercise discretion to grant bail as prayed by Mamu.
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