A Federal High Court in Abuja has adjourned till October 16 for ruling on a bail application filed by detained alleged terrorist negotiator, Tukur Mohammed Mamu.
Justice Mohammed Umar chose the date yesterday after taking arguments from lawyers to both the prosecution and the defence.
Defence lawyer, Johnson Usman (SAN), who argued the bail application, urged the court not to countenance the fact that the former judge handling the case (Justice Inyang Ekwo) rejected Mamu’s earlier applications for bail.
Usman argued that since the case was starting afresh before Justice Umar, it should be taken to imply that past decisions could no longer apply.
He prayed the court to allow his client on bail on the most liberal terms.
Prosecuting lawyer, David Kaswe (of the Federal Ministry of Justice), opposed the bail application and prayed the court to reject it.
Kaswe informed the court that this was the third time that the defendant was applying for bail.
He argued that nothing had changed since his last two bail applications were refused.
According to him, the defendant did not provide any new facts that would make the court to exercise its discretion in his favour.
Justice Umar faulted Usman’s claim that past decisions taken in the case could no longer apply, stressing that since the parties agreed that past proceedings in the case before they were adopted by the new judge, the case could not be said to have started afresh.
Earlier, Justice Umar had granted an application by the prosecution that the record of proceedings before the previous judge be adopted by the new judge to allow the trial to continue from where the last judge stopped.
The judge also granted an order retaining all the earlier decisions and orders issued by the previous judge.
Kaswe said the prosecution had called four witnesses before the other judge and needed just two more days to call the remaining two or three witnesses to close the case of the state.
