Oyo High Court To Grant Two APC Chieftains Bail On Phantom Murder Charge Over Politics

Feelers from Oyo State High Court of Justice,Ibadan, presiding over by Hon. Justice Olusola Adebisi Adetujoye Court 11, is set to grant the bail application filled by the Counsel to the two Chieftains of the All Progressives Congress(APC), Mallam Kazeem Rasheed Olofin and Mr. Ismail Jamiyu on a phantom murder charge over politics on Monday.

The presiding Justice Adetujoye had earlier queried the State Counsel over delaying in response to grant the bail application to the Oyo APC Chieftains, adding that the State Counsel has been using tactics on the directive of the Oyo State Deputy Governor,Mr. Bayo Lawal.

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It added that the State Counsel then apologised to the Court for deliberately causing the delayed in granting the bail application of Mallam Olofin and Mr. Jamiyu respectively by not responding to bail application.

It was alleged that Mallam Olofin and Mr. Jamiyu were arrested and detained since March 25, 2024 over political differences by Mr. Lawal on the said date after disagreed in a meeting to return back to the Peoples Democratic Party(PDP) in the State.

It was also alleged that at the said meeting at the instance of Mr. Bayo Lawal,the two APC chieftains and their followers refused to decamp to the PDP where Mr. Lawal saw their action as a slap on his face politically.

The Deputy Governor Lawal conspired to implicate the two APC Chiefs in a phantom murder allegation without any concrete evidence to prove such beyond reasonable doubt which made two APC chieftains to be languishing in prison custody since March 2024 over the matter they knew nothing about.

It was gathered that the Police arrested and detained the two Chieftains of the opposition APC in the State on March 25th,2024 and the alleged murdered incident occurred on 28th day of March,2024,allged the State Command of Nigeria Police of bias by concluding that those in their custody killed person.

According to human rights organization, the Centre for Human Rights and Social Justice (CHRSJ) at the weekend, through its Assistant General Secretary (AGS), Pastor Micheal Agassi strongly condemned the illegal arrest and unlawful detention of the two APC chieftains since more than 13 months by using State government aparatus to persecute opposing political views.

Pastor Agassi who described the action of Mr. Lawal as unlawful, ungodly,illegal,unconstitutional,anathema,abomination and eveil against God and humanity and abuse office in contrary to Section 15(5) of the amended 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

It would be recalled that the two APC chieftains were arrested immediately after they held a meeting with the State Deputy Governor, Mr. Bayo Lawal in his office at the State Secretariat,Ibadan over plan to ensure they returned back to the fold of Peoples Democratic Party(PDP) after they have decamped to the opposition APC along with the immediate past Deputy Governor of the State,Engineer Rauf Olaniyan who hailed with them from Igboho in Oorelope Local Government area of the State at the twilight of the first term in office of Governor Seyi Makinde in 2018.

The rights group also noted that Engineer Olaniyan was of the same federal constituency with the present Deputy Governor of Oyo State, Mr. Bayo Lawal who hailed from Kishi in Irepo Local Government area of the State,advising Mr. Bayo Lawal to shun politics of bitterness in the State.

The group alleged that all efforts to get the bail applications of APC chieftain granted before the State High Court had been thwarted by the State Counsel on the directive of the Mr. Bayo Lawal and State Attorney- General and Commissioner for Justice for no justification.

The bail application slated to be heard and subsequently granted on Monday 28th day of April,2025 by Justice O. A. Adetujoye of State High Court (11), Ibadan Judicial Division,Ring- Road,Ibadan in the interest of fair hearing and justice.