A Kano chief magistrate court on Monday granted bail to Deji Adeyanju, who had been incarcerated for 67 days in Kano prison after fulfilling the conditions for his bail.
Adeyanju had been remanded in a Kano prison after he was re-arrested and charged for homicide by the Nigeria Police Force, over a protracted case said to have been decided upon by the Kano State High Court in 2009.
Adeyanju was released on bail after a hearing on Monday, with a condition that he must provide sureties and N500,000, according to his lawyers.
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The human rights activist was arrested and detained on December 13 over allegations he was involved in a murder in Kano in 2005.
The police did not formally arraign Mr Adeyanju for the alleged murder.
He rather was charged for murder in 2005 at the Kano State High Court but was discharged and acquitted in 2009 after a trial that spanned four years.
The prior acquittal and police’s failure to arraign Adeyanju for several weeks after arresting him raised speculations that his detention was politically motivated.
However, the police had since denied the allegations.
Adeyanju spent over two months at the detention seeking bail at federal and state courts because the police did not bring charges against him.
In a tweet, Oluyemi Fasipe an associate of Adeyanju confirmed the activist’s release after the conditions for his bail requirements were met.
BREAKING: Deji @adeyanjudeji has been granted bail. 🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏
— Olúyẹmí Fásípè AICMC (@YemieFash) February 18, 2019
Amos Abba is a journalist with the International Center for Investigative Reporting, ICIR, who believes that courageous investigative reporting is the key to social justice and accountability in the society.