An activist and social affairs commentator, Comrade Boniface Okonkwo who had been in detention over the case of defamation, will on Tuesday, February 6, 2024, know his fate on a bail application he filed.
A High Court sitting in Nnewi, Anambra State headed by Justice Vincent Agbata, had last Wednesday, denied Okonkwo bail when the matter came up.
Justice Agbata eventually adjourned the matter till Tuesday, Feb. 6th, 2024 for a hearing.
The activist was reportedly arrested in his Oraifite Community in Anambra state on January 3rd and clamped into detention by police for allegedly criticizing on social media a meter manufacturing company in Oraifite said to be owned by Offor.
But rather than sue for defamation, Offor filed a complaint with the police.
After the court sitting, Okonkwo, who was in high spirits despite the court ruling, said he was unperturbed by the array of legal practitioners flaunted against him.
He expressed confidence in the God of victory in his travail.
“I want to tell everyone that all is well. I’m strong and seriously motivated.
“I thank God for His grace and mercy and I want everyone to know that God is the greatest,” he said.
Counsel to the defendant, Sebastian Okonkwo, who was disappointed that the court denied the bail application, said, “In the first instance, I was unaware of my client being arraigned in court. I was only called for a few hours to prepare for the court sitting.
“Secondly, the charge brought against him was no longer on cyber crime as earlier stated, but on defamation under the Anambra State criminal code.
“I applied for his bail, but the Counsel for the complainant opposed the bail application because it is a High Court and that application won’t be oral.
“The matter was adjourned to Tuesday next week for us to file a motion for bail.
“But what surprised me was that after the whole argument, I expected the court to grant him bail because the law is sacrosanct and clear on that.
“If it’s a misdemeanor, you grant the accused bail. And this is a pure case of misdemeanor, not a felony or capital offense.
“Any judge would have granted him bail without delay. But the lawyers for the state came up with the argument that the accused, in his statement to the Police, said he had lived in South Africa for almost 14 years.
“According to the lawyers, they’re not sure he’ll remain in Nigeria and likely to run away if granted bail. Even when we told the court he has a surety which is the essence of bail until the matter is disposed of.
“Again, the fact that he lives in South Africa or any other part of the world is not a basis for his escape, unless there’s any other reason for the court to believe.
“Remember, the young man was arrested in the village, and there has not been any manifest act to show if he’ll jump bail if granted.
“This is very painful. But as a lawyer who believes in the rule of law, we’ll wait for the Judge to deliver his ruling on Tuesday so the young man will not continue being detained.”
Okonkwo has been in detention since January 3 2024 after being arrested following a complaint by a businessman, Sir Emeka Offor.
Both complainant and defendant are from the same Oraifite community in the Ekwusigo local government area of the state.
The South Africa-based Social Critic had taken the Inspector General of Police IGP Kayode Egbetokun, Emeka Offor, and five others to court over alleged unlawful arrest and detention.
He demanded a #50 million fine from the police as compensation for his unlawful detention.
