Journalist and Activist, Agba Jalingo of Cross River Watch has been remanded in prison by Justice Simon Amobeda of the Federal High Court sitting in Calabar on Wednesday.
After spending 33 days in police’s net, Jalingo was arraigned for charges of terrorism, treasonable felony and attempt to topple the Cross River State Government.
According to Reports, WITHIN NIGERIA gathered that the presiding judge said he had no time to look at the bail document..
He further said that the counter affidavit by the prosecution filed in response to the motion for bail by the defendant’s counsel was added to the file on Wednesday morning and that he had not had time to look at it. He said that he perused the file on Tuesday night and did not see the counter affidavit.
The prosecution counsel, Mr. Denis Terhemba, a Deputy Superintendent of Police claimed the counter affidavit was filed on September 18, 2019 but Jalingo’s counsel, Mr. Attah Ochinke said he was served shortly before the court began sitting.
However, after a brief discussion with the Clerk of the Court who whispered a few words to him, Justice Amobeda ruled that Jalingo be remanded at the Afokang prison in Calabar. He adjourned the case to Thursday, September 26, 2019.
Jalingo was arrested in his Lagos residence on August 22, 2019, following an invitation by the Police Command in Cross River State over a petition that an article he wrote on the State’s Microfinance bank had affected its business negatively.
Jalingo had, in the article, queried the whereabouts of the N500 million approved and released by the Cross River State government for the floating of the bank.
Reacting to the ruling of the court, Mr. Ochinke who described the charges as “sensational,” also averred “we have looked at the proof of evidence and we know that they have no base.