Police seeks secret deposition of Ese Oruru as court remands Yunusa

The alleged abductor of Ese Oruru, Yunusa Dahiru, has been remanded in prison custody again after his five-man defence team failed to secure his bail.

Justice H.A Nganjiwa of the Federal High Court, Yenagoa, Bayelsa State, ruled that Yunusa should be remanded due to the inability of his five-man defence team  led by Mr Kayode Olaosebikan and the three-man team of police prosecutors headed by Kenneth Dika to present ‘cited authorities’ in their arguments during the court session.

Yunusa is facing a five-count charge of criminal abduction, illicit sex, sexual exploitation and unlawful carnal knowledge of a minor.

During the hearing on Monday, the prosecution asked the court for secret deposition of Ese Oruru who was allegedly forced into marriage by Yunusa.

Dika argued that being a minor, Ese deserved to be protected by the court. But the prayer was opposed by the defence team, which insisted that the teenager must appear in court in person.

The seven-paragraph affidavit asking for bail was deposed to by Oladeji Maxwell of Olaosebikan and Co., while the defence team’s affidavit rejecting the bail application was deposed to by Debo Waheed, a member of the police prosecuting team.

The prosecution prayed the court not to grant the bail request by Yunusa’s five-man legal team.

But the defence argued that since the charges against Yunusa were ‘bailable’, the judge should not have any inhibitions in granting the prayer of the accused.

In opposing the bail application, the police noted that it was difficult to ‘retrieve’ Yunusa from the Muslim Council in Kano when he was first arrested, arguing that if the accused was granted bail, it would literally put an end to the case.

“It took the police from since August till now to get the suspect arrested. If he’s granted bail, he will not come back to this court because he is not even resident in this jurisdiction’’, the prosecution argued.

But the lead counsel to Yunusa called on the judge to disregard the prosecution’s prayer, arguing that the statement was even an indictment on the police legal team.

“It is preposterous that a member of the police force would say that they cannot retrieve Yunusa from the Muslim council in Kano, when the members of that body are all civilians. The court should not rely on that argument’’, Olaosebikan said.

In a brief ruling, Justice Ngajiwa reserved ruling on the bail application to a later date and ordered that Yunusa should be sent back to prison.

“Ruling is hereby reserved for the 21st of March and suspect is to be remanded in prison custody’’, the judge ordered.

Source: The Guardian