An Oyo State High Court sitting in Ibadan has granted bail to the alleged prime suspect in the March 9 murder of Temitope Olatoye ( aka Sugar).
The court took the decision on Thursday.
Sugar defected from the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) to the Action Democratic Party(ADP) in the build-up to the 2019 general election.
He was a member of the Federal House of Representatives legislating on behalf of Lagelu/Akinyele constituency.
He was cut down in a hail of bullets in one of the polling units in his constituency during the governorship and house of assembly elections
Sugar’s body was committed to Mother earth on Friday in Ibadan, the state capital.
It was gathered that about five suspects, including a serving member of the state House of Assembly from Akinyele, Olafisoye Akinmoyede were arrested in connection with his murder.
The suspects were taken to Abuja and kept ‘under protective custody’
But Akinmoyede through his counsel, Michael Lana approached Justice Moshood Abass and sought to enforce the fundamental human rights of the house whip, over prolonged detention.
Akinmoyede, through his counsel, urged the court to grant him bail as his continued detention is an unlawful and gross violation of his fundamental human rights.
Lana urged the court to grant bail to his client pending the arraignment of his client at the court of law.
Meanwhile, the counsel for the respondent, the Commissioner of Police, was absent at the hearing.
The presiding judge, Justice Abass, said that he considered the action of the police as arrogant, unlawful and unconstitutional.
Abass said that all actions of the police must be seen to have justification in law and the fundamental right of the applicant must not be restrained by any technicality.
The judge said that the practice of the police making an arrest before an investigation was not proper.
“The power of the police to arrest and detain is not in doubt but the constitution stipulates that any person detained must be arraigned within 24hours.
“The remand order obtained by the police from an Iyaganku Magistrate court had expired since April 4 and detaining the applicant beyond this period is flagrant disobedient to the constitution.
“Obedient to court order should be the responsibility of all who believe in the stability of Nigeria,” the judge said.
The judge faulted the police on their inability to provide justification to deny the applicant bail.
In his ruling, the judge held that the applicant should be granted bail with a surety who is blood relation with landed property worth N50 million among others.
The judge said that the other surety should be a civil servant with grade level 14 or member of the state House of Assembly or Federal.
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