By Fadehan Oyeyemi A dismissed teacher in Abuja, Igoche Daniel Adah charged with alleged sexual molestation before an Abuja High Cou...
By Fadehan Oyeyemi
A dismissed teacher in Abuja, Igoche Daniel Adah charged
with alleged sexual molestation before an Abuja High Court is suspected to be
among inmates who escaped from prison custody when some gunmen attacked the
Kuje Correctional Centre last week.
Adah was ordered to be remanded in prison custody on June
23, when he was arraigned before Justice Akeem Fashola of the Federal Territory
High Court sitting in Jabi.
The Commissioner of Police in the FCT had put the dismissed
teacher on trial on charges of sexual abuse-related offences.
Adah was slammed with one count charge to the effect that on
April 15, 2021, he repeatedly touched the breast and other sensitive parts of a
14-year-old student of Destiny Academy, Lugbe in Abuja where he was teaching.
The defendant, however, pleaded not guilty to the charge
punishable under section 32 of the Child Rights Act.
At Thursday’s proceedings, the accused person was not
present in court, fuelling speculation that he might have escaped from Kuje
prison where he has been on remand since June 23.
His defence counsel, led by Terka Aondo confirmed that Adah
escaped from custody during the attack.
He, however, claimed that the accused had returned to
custody, but failed to produce him in court due to logistics hiccups.
Earlier, Justice Fashola admitted the suspect to N500,000
bail after spending 21 days in remand at Kuje prison on the order of the court.
Justice Fashola admitted him to bail in the amount with two
sureties in the like sum while delivering the ruling in his bail application.
Among other stringent conditions, Justice Fashola ordered
that the accused person produce two sureties, both of whom must be Federal
Government workers and residents in the FCT.
In addition, the Judge held that one of the two sureties
must deposit his international travelling passport with the Registrar of the
Court till the duration of the trial of the accused person in the criminal
charge.
While delivering the ruling, Justice Fashola remarked that
granting bail in a criminal matter is entirely at the discretion of the Court
to enable a defendant prepare for his defence in the trial.
The Judge specifically held that the sexual molestation
charge against the dismissed teacher was a bailable one and not a capital
offence.
In another ruling, Justice Fashola vacated the arrest
warrant earlier issued against the defendant during the period he refused to
appear in court to take his plea.
The Court held that having been arrested, arraigned and his
plea taken on June 23, the issue of bench warrant has been overtaken by events.
Justice Fashola subsequently fixed October 27 2022 for the
trial of the defendant in the one-count criminal charge filed against him by
the Commissioner of Police, FCT Command.
Police Counsel Mr John Ijagbemi had opposed the bail
application of the accused person on the ground that twice, he refused to
appear in court to take his plea without any justification.
He had informed the court of how a bench warrant had to be
issued against him and executed by Police operatives before he could be
apprehended and brought to court.
While on administrative bail, the Police counsel had alleged
that the defendant committed another offence of the same nature adding that the
court must be wary of granting such a person bail.
The Police counsel had further stated that the
administrative bail granted him by the Police Commissioner was abused as he
refused to honour invitations extended to him by the police immediately after
he was allowed home to prepare for his defence in the allegations against him.
Besides, the prosecutor had stated that the defendant’s
surety had to withdraw from standing for him when it became apparent that the
accused person was evasive.
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