By Similola Awolusi
An Osun Magistrate’s court sitting in Osogbo on Monday, 5th of March, arraigned a Ghanaian, Joseph Richard and a security man, Ola Ojokole, for allegedly burgling a shop and carting away numerous phones, headsets, memory cards, phone chargers, play stations, a DVD machine and a power bank, all summing to one million naira belonging to a complainant, Mr. Adeniyi Adebowale.
The Defence Counsel, Mr. Okobe Najite, applied for bail for the accused persons, pledging that his clients would not abuse the privilege of bail and would patiently await trial until the case is settled. He also stated that they are presumed to be innocent until the contrary is proven, relying on Section 36 (iv) of 1995 constitution as amended.
According to the Prosecutor, granting bail is at the discretion of the court. He also stated that the bail should be opposed because if the accused are granted bail, they would jump it. He backed this up by stating that the first accused is a Ghanaian and had to be tracked down prior to his arrest. He therefore requested for a short date of adjournment adding that part of the exhibits were recovered from the first accused and that burgling has been rampant.
Reacting to the Prosecutor’s statement, the Defence Counsel stated that the accused jumping bail is merely a speculation. He said that bail shouldn’t be based on nationality which is the essence of sureties. Therefore, the fact that the first accused is from Ghana does not mean that he isn’t qualified for bail. He further stated that the first accused resides in Osogbo with his parents and granting bail is a constitutional right which means denying the accused bail will send a wrong signal.
However, the magistrate Mrs. Oloyade granted the bail based on one million naira with two sureties for each accused. She further stated that one of the sureties must be a civil servant, not less than level ten, with a certificate of promotion, an I. D card, three passport photographs attached with an affidavit of means and address which should be verified by the police, payment proof of tax in the last three years and must reside within the jurisdiction of the magistrate court. Failure to meet the bail conditions would call for the remand of the accused persons in police custody.
She adjourned the case until the 9th of February for hearing.
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