A Magistrate Court in Rivers State, has ordered that 44 pro Biafra supporters who were arrested in connection with a protest by the Indigenous People of Biafra, in Port Harcourt be remanded in prison.
The 44 supporters were part of hundreds who marched to show solidarity for Nnamdi Kanu, the Biafran Radio Director, arrested by the Department of State Services.The presiding Magistrate, Mr Andrew Jaja, said the court lacked jurisdiction over the matter since they we
re charged for treasonable felony.
He also noted that the court could not grant bail to the accused, stressing that the offence for which they were charged was beyond the magistrate court.“The court does not have jurisdiction to entertain the case.
"Section 118 of the Criminal Procedure Act provides that persons charged with treason/capital offence cannot be granted bail by the Magistrate Court, but have the opportunity to be granted bail by the High Court,” ChannelsTV quoted him as saying.Jaja ordered that the original case file be duplicated and copies sent to the Director of Public Prosecution (DPP) for further investigation and advice.
