Two weeks ago, Uja was removed from an Abuja-Lagos Ibom Air flight for embarking on a lone protest against the forthcoming inauguration of President-elect, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu as President.
He had been charged with “public nuisance, resistance to a lawful arrest, threatening violence and conduct likely to cause a breach of peace contrary to Sections 396, 267,188,172 and 144 of the Penal Code Law”.
Ruling in the application for bail, Senior Magistrate Mohammed Ismail held that, from the report signed by Segun Soyombo of the National Hospital, Abuja, he believed that the defendant could not stand trial in his current state of mind.
He, therefore, invoked the provisions of Section 278(3)(4) of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act, 2015, to order Uja’s remand for a period not more than one month.
He held that the defendant must be remanded in a suitable place with the requisite medical facility to manage him for one month.
The magistrate further ordered that the medical personnel handling Uja’s treatment should do so at the Federal Government’s expense.
Ismail held that the personnel should report his observation of the defendant to the court, adding that he had personally visited the Kuje Prison and inspected its medical amenity with satisfaction that there are requisite facilities needed for Uja’s treatment.
However, Uja told the court that remanding him for a month in Kuje meant that the court wanted to kill him.
“I have a sickness that no medical doctor can cure, and as such, I want to go to my village to consult a herbal doctor”, he said.
The magistrate adjourned the case until 23rd May for a report.
On 11th April, the court declined to grant Uja bail because the exhibits attached to the application filed by his counsel did not say he was unfit to face trial but indicated he was of unsound mind.
Ismail held that, although the 1999 Constitution (as amended) guarantees every person’s liberty, a court can deprive a person of their liberty based on certain conditions.
He subsequently ordered Uja to be taken to a government hospital to evaluate his mental capacity.
Credit: News Agency of Nigeria
