Judge varies bail condition for Olisa Metuh over surety

The sureties must have landed property within Abuja, and not just at Maitama. That was the only prayer in the application for variation of bail sought by Metuh that was granted.

A federal judge of the Abuja High Court, Justice Okon Abang has relaxed the bail conditions for sureties imposed on the spokesman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Olisa Metuh for him to be granted bail, reports The Cable.

Chief Olisa Metuh in court on Monday, January 25, 2016

The judge, however, ruled that Olisa Metuh must perfect the conditions of bail for him to be released from prison.

Citing a ruling of the court granting Metuh bail, Abang held: “The court cannot be expected to sit on appeal over its decision.” 

He directed the accused person to go on appeal against the ruling of the court if he was not satisfied with it.

According to The Cable, the judge while stating that the decision of the court to grant Metuh bail was not to keep him in custody, varied the condition requiring the accused person to have two sureties who must have landed property at Maitama, Abuja.

He held that the scope of ownership of property for the sureties was now expanded to include all parts of the federal capital territory. 

The sureties must, therefore, have landed property within Abuja, and not just at Maitama. 

That was the only prayer in the application for variation of bail sought by Metuh that was granted.

Emeka Etiaba, the defence counsel, had prayed the court to vary the conditions of Metuh’s bail on six grounds.

One of the grounds was that the order requiring the provision of two sureties who must have landed property at Maitama, Abuja, be varied.

But Tahir Sylvanus, counsel to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), said: “The prosecution is fundamentally opposed to the application of the first defendant for variation of bail.”

In response, the defence counsel argued that the prosecution had no right to oppose the application since it did not file a counter-affidavit and asked the court to exercise its discretion and vary the conditions of the accused person’s bail.

Abang, after ruling that the court would not overturn its own judgment, however varied one condition of bail for Metuh.