“Ebonyi Court Adjourns Hearing on OYC President’s Bail Application to March 12”
An Ebonyi Magistrate’s Court sitting in Abakaliki has adjourned the hearing of a bail application for the release of Mr. Igboayaka Igboayaka, the national president of the Ohanaeze Youth Council (OYC), until March 12. Igboayaka, who was re-elected for a second term as president of the Council, was arrested on February 8 in Owerri by the Anti-Kidnapping Unit of the Ebonyi Police Command and later brought to Abakaliki where he has been detained.
Following his arrest, Igboayaka was arraigned before the Abakaliki Magistrate Court on February 12, facing a felony charge, and was subsequently remanded at the Abakaliki Medium Custodial Centre.
At Thursday’s court session, Magistrate Mrs. Sandra Ifeanyi-Oyibe addressed the bail application filed by Igboayaka’s defence counsel, Mr. Obinna Ekeke. This hearing marked the first time the case had come before the court since Igboayaka’s remand. Ekeke, citing the deteriorating health condition of his client, appealed for his release on bail, stressing the urgency of the situation.
“If not for the health condition of the defendant, we wouldn’t be making this application,” Ekeke stated. “It would not serve the interests of justice if this young man’s life is lost because of this case.”
Ekeke further argued that the Supreme Court had set a clear position on bail applications, emphasizing that the court had the authority to grant bail even without a formal application.
In her ruling, Magistrate Ifeanyi-Oyibe acknowledged that this was the first hearing after Igboayaka’s remand and noted that the application for bail could also be made to the High Court. She explained that, under the law, if the case is not a capital offence, the defendant may apply for bail after a 14-day period, which will be addressed at the next adjournment.
“The matter is hereby adjourned to March 12 for compliance,” Ifeanyi-Oyibe concluded.
The prosecution counsel was notably absent during the court proceedings.
Igboayaka, 42, and several others who remain at large, are facing trial for alleged conspiracy to commit felony and instilling extreme fear in the people of the Amegu Nkalagha community in the Ishielu Local Government area of Ebonyi State.
