… Court orders access to lawyer of choice
The Department of State Services (DSS) will today, Thursday, re-arraign five suspected members of the Ansaru terrorist group over their alleged involvement in the abduction of pupils and teachers in Oriire Local Government Area of Oyo State.
The suspects are also facing allegations over the subsequent killing of two of the victims following the May 15 abduction.
They are to be re-arraigned before the Federal High Court in Abuja on a six-count amended charge filed by the Director of Public Prosecutions of the Federation, Rotimi Oyedepo (SAN), on behalf of the Federal Government.
The accused are Mahmud Muhammad, also known as Abu Bara’a and Abbas Mukhtar; Abubakar Abbas, aka Isah Adam and Mallam Mahmuda Al-Nigeri; Abdulrazak Umar, aka Abu Khalifa and Abu Khalid; Yunusa Musa, aka Abu Yunusa Bin Musa; and Shamsu Adamu Sani, aka Abu Itisar.
The re-arraignment was shifted after the first defendant, Muhammad, objected to being represented by a lawyer from the Legal Aid Council.
The case came up before Justice Saliu Ibrahim on Wednesday, when a Deputy Director of the Legal Aid Council, Akilaluyel Shettima, announced his appearance for the five defendants.
However, Muhammad told the court that the defendants already had a lawyer, Bala Dakum, and wanted him to continue representing them.
“We had been represented by Bala Dakum as our lawyer before, and we would want him to continue to defend us,” he told the court.
In response, Oyedepo acknowledged that the defendants’ constitutional right to counsel of their choice should be respected.
The Federal Government’s lawyer also told the court that the DSS was a law-abiding agency and was not interested in persecuting the accused persons but in ensuring that justice was served.
Justice Ibrahim subsequently adjourned the case until Thursday for the suspects to be re-arraigned.
The judge directed the defendants to contact Dakum and ensure that he was available in court for the proceedings.
He also ordered the DSS to allow the suspects access to their lawyer to enable them prepare their defence in accordance with the law.
The re-arraignment will now pave the way for the defendants to take their pleas to the amended charges concerning the alleged Oyo school abduction.
