Tina Amanda
The Rivers State Police Command has arraigned over two hundred people before a Magistrate court sitting in Port Harcourt for violation of the 24-hour restriction of movement issued by the state government in some parts of the state.
The suspects who were arrested in different parts of Port Harcourt where the curfew was placed are being charged on three-count of conspiracy, disobedient to Governors’ directive and street trading which is said to be a breach of public peace.
The three Magistrates who presided over the cases, Senior Magistrate Rita Oguguo, Chief Magistrate DD Ihua-Maduenyi and Senior Magistrate V.E Nweke granted all the suspects bail.
The Presiding Magistrates adjourned cases to 6th April for definite hearing.
Some of the suspects pleaded guilty and were granted bail in the sum of ten thousand naira, while those who pleaded not guilty were granted bail in the sum of one hundred thousand naira with two Surtees whose addresses must be verified by the prosecutors.
Speaking to our correspondent Tina Amanda, one of the Defendant’s Counsels, Izitoh Orokwo, commended the court for the swift way it handled the matter, despite the suffering of the suspects who were detained.
He stressed that the court graciously granted bail to some suspect who pleaded guilty with an option of a fine ranging from five thousand naira to ten thousand on the grounds of the pandemic situation.
He said further that the court called for summary trial, but the Police was showing unreadiness for the summary trial, which made the court to fix for definite hearing.
Also, some of the relatives of the suspects told our correspondent that it was wrong for the Police to arrest and detain over two hundred people in the same place, at a time of COVID 19 pandemic, stressing that the arrest and detention posed risk for the suspects contracting the virus, should anyone amongst them been already infected.
Some of the relatives lamented that their loved ones have been arrested and detained in Police custody since Monday, 30th March 2020 and were brought to court today.
They also expressed worries that some of their loved ones have fallen sick as a result of the torture and ill-treatment meted out to them by the police.
They also lamented that the Police did not give them access to see their loved ones while in detention, but were demanding for them to pay the sum of five hundred naira in order to see their loved ones.
