BEVERLY HILLS, October 19, (THEWILL) – The Federal Government on Thursday arraigned Senator Hamma Misau before an Abuja High Court on a five-count charge bordering on alleged injurious falsehood against the Inspector General of Police, Ibrahim Idris, Police Service Commission and the Nigerian Police Force.
Misau, who was docked on a five-count charge marked FCT/HC/CR/345/2017, pleaded not guilty before the Chief Judge, Justice Ishaq Bello to the charges for which he is standing trial.
In making an oral application, counsel to Misau, Godwin Obla SAN, prayed the court to admit the Bauchi Central Senator to bail on self-recognizance. He hinged his application on Section 393(1) of the Penal Code under which the defendant was charged.
Misau said he would be available to defend all the allegations the levelled against him by the federal government, adding that he appeared before the court voluntarily to face the charges.
The Director of Public Prosecution, Mr. Salihu Bakun who represented the federal government said he was not opposed to the bail request.
Consequently, Justice Bello granted the accused bail to the tune of N5million with two sureties in like sum, even as he fixed November 28 for trial.
The federal government had in the charge, which was endorsed by the office of the Attorney General of the Federation, AGF, said the defendant alleged among others that police officers paid as much as N2.5m to get special promotion and posting through the Police Service Commission, PSC.
The charge was a direct fallout of the allegations that Misau, who himself is a retired Deputy Superintendent of Police, raised against the IGP.
He was charged for alleging that the police boss diverted money meant for the purchase of Armoured Personnel Carriers, Sport Utility Vehicles and other exotic cars.
The lawmaker was said to have falsely accused the police inspector-general of making almost half of the mobile commanders in the country the people of his Nupe extraction.
The lawmaker, aside accusing the IGP of instituting roadblocks accross Nigeria with the purpose of extorting money from unsuspecting motorists, equally alleged that the police boss had sexual affair with female police officers.
Misau further alleged that the IGP collects illegal fees by way of security protections given to corporate organizations, eminent citizens and oil companies running into billions of Naira.
The AGF maintained that the the lawmaker had by his action utterances, committed an offence contrary to Section 393(1) of the Penal Code.
The federal government equally filed another seven-count charge against the lawmaker before the Federal High Court in Abuja.
In the second seven-count charge marked FHC/ABJ/CR/170/2017, the federal government alleged that Misau falsely declared his age in affidavits he deposed to at FCT High Court and the Bauchi State Health Management Board Birth Certificate.
He was said to have submitted the false documents to the Independent National Electoral Commission in 2011 and 2014.
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