SAN FRANCISCO, September 17, (THEWILL) – A Magistrate Court sitting in Abuja has struck out the suit against Nigerian journalist Jones Abiri for lack of jurisdiction.
Abiri is being tried over allegations that linked him to armed militancy in the Niger Delta.
The ruling follows an application by Abiri’s lawyer, Samuel Ogala, asking the court to transfer his Abiri’s trial to Bayelsa State since that was where he was arrested.
The Federal Government had arraigned him before a Magistrate Court in Abuja.
Before his arraignment, he had been detained by the Department of State Services (DSS) for two years without trial.
Ogala in the preliminary objection asked the court to hold that it lacked territorial jurisdiction to try the journalist in Abuja when the alleged crime was said to have taken place.
The Magistrate Chukwuemeka Nweke, agreed with the defence and thereafter struck out the suit.
Nweke also described the detention as a criminal intimidation.
About the Author
