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,,,,, Bail application suffers set back.
By Correspondent in Abuja.
There was mild drama at the Federal High Court in Abuja on Thursday as the bail application of detained social media influencer, Chidiebere Justice Mark, popularly known as Justice Crack, suffered a setback following a heated disagreement between two lawyers claiming to represent him.
The courtroom tension unfolded before Justice Joyce Abdulmalik during proceedings in the alleged cybercrime case instituted against the influencer over a viral video relating to the Nigerian Army.
Justice Crack is being prosecuted in a three-count charge filed by the Department of State Services over allegations bordering on cybercrime and publication of materials said to be capable of causing public unrest.
The defendant, who had earlier pleaded not guilty to the charges, was accused of circulating a viral video through his X handle, @JusticeCrack, alleging poor feeding conditions among Nigerian soldiers.
At the resumed hearing slated for the consideration of his bail request, the courtroom atmosphere changed dramatically when two lawyers ,Marshall Abubakar and Femi Balogun, simultaneously announced appearances for the defendant.
Balogun told the court that he had been engaged by Justice Crack’s family to take over the defence and immediately drew the court’s attention to the pending bail application already before it.
However, Abubakar swiftly opposed the move, insisting that he remained the counsel officially handling the matter and had not been disengaged by the defendant.
The disagreement briefly stalled proceedings as both lawyers stood their ground over who truly represented the embattled influencer.
To resolve the confusion, Justice Abdulmalik directly asked Justice Crack to identify his lawyer in open court.
In a dramatic moment that drew attention across the courtroom, the defendant pointed at Balogun as his preferred counsel.
Apparently displeased by the development, Abubakar immediately applied to withdraw all legal processes he had earlier filed on behalf of the defendant, including the bail application upon which Balogun sought to rely.
Following the application, Justice Abdulmalik struck out all the processes filed by Abubakar, effectively leaving the defendant without a pending bail request before the court.
The judge subsequently adjourned the matter until May 18 for the hearing of a fresh bail application to be filed by the new defence counsel.
Earlier in the proceedings, Leyii Abueh, representing the Federal Ministry of Justice, informed the court that the Federal Ministry of Justice had formally taken over the prosecution of the case from the DSS on the directive of the Attorney-General of the Federation.
Edited by Dada Ahmed.
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