By Dada Ahmed in Lokoja.
Photo credit: Google.
Three defendants,,Abbah Emmanuel, Umar Abubakar, and Kingsley Danasabe,were arraigned on Wednesday before Senior Magistrate Abdullahi Musa Mopa at Court 1 in Lokoja, Kogi State, over allegations of illegal revenue collection.
The prosecution charged the defendants with conspiracy, impersonation, and mounting an illegal roadblock.
The court was informed that the accused were arrested on November 13, 2024, near the Federal University Lokoja (FUL) in Felele by a vigilante group while allegedly extorting motorists but the defendants pleaded not guilty to the charges.
Their counsel, Mauzu A. Abbas, urged the court to grant bail, citing Section 36(5) of the 1999 Constitution and Section 156 of the Kogi State Administration of Criminal Justice Law, 2017, which guarantee the right to bail.
The Prosecuting counsel, Gabriel Otowu, did not oppose the bail application but emphasized the need for caution and requested a date for further mention.
In his ruling, Magistrate Mopa granted bail to the defendants in the sum of N400,000 each, with two sureties.
He stipulated that the sureties must be public servants on at least, Grade Level 14, residing in Lokoja, with verifiable addresses, BVN, bank account details, and NIMC information and adjourned the case to December 11, 2024, for further mention.
Our correspondent recalls that the Executive Chairman of the Kogi State Internal Revenue Service (KGIRS), Alhaji Salihu Sule Enehe, recently condemned the activities of illegal revenue collectors, reiterating that such acts violate KGIRS’ regulations.
He pledged to prosecute offenders to serve as a deterrent.
