By: Felix Ikpotor
A High Court sitting in Port Harcourt has granted a federal lawmaker, Farah Dagogo bail after almost sixty days in detention.
Dagogo who represents Degema/Bonny constituency in the House of Representatives was granted bail with the sum of twenty million naira in the case preferred against him by the Rivers State government.
The presiding Judge, Justice Chiwendu Nwogu, in his ruling on Tuesday, granted the lawmaker bail with the conditions that he must produce one surety with the sum of twenty million naira.
The court also directed the defendant to deposit his international passport as he cannot travel outside the country without leave of the court pending his trial.
Justice Nwogu ruled that the surety must be a citizen of Nigeria and an indigene of Rivers State who must have a registered document of title that reside within Rivers State and Port Harcourt metropolis.
The court ruled further that the legal assistant of the court will verify the address of the surety and both the Defendant and the surety would tender two passport photograph each and three years of tax clearance.
The Judge, however, dismissed the insinuations that the court was purposely denying Farah Dagogo bail, noting that it was the Defendant’s Counsel who constituted enemies to themselves by abusing the court process in their multiplicity of actions.
Speaking outside the court room, Cosmos Enweluzo, SAN, lead counsel to Dagogo, said he is happy that his client has been granted bail, but expressed sadness that it is unfortunate the court took over two months to grant the Defendant bail.
“Where there is rule of law, the right and liberty of a citizen must be respected and honoured. We are talking about a citizen who is a member of the National Assembly, but in all things, we give glory to God and also express profane gratitude to the Judge for extending his discretion and magnanimity”.
