45
advocates of the Biafra secessionist movement who participated in the
ill-fated pro-Trump rally in Rivers have been arraigned in court.
The Rivers State Police Command yesterday arraigned 45 members of
the Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB, and the Movement for the
Actualisation of Sovereign State of Biafra, MASSOB, before two Chief
Magistrate Courts sitting in Port Harcourt for treason over their
alleged involvement in the Friday agitation in Rivers State.
The members of the IPOB and the MASSOB had on Friday, organised a
solidarity rally to commemorate the swearing in of Mr Donald Trump as
the new American president according to the Vanguard.
But the security operatives in the state arrested over 65 of them
and disrupted the rally, claiming that the Pro-Biafran agitators did not
obtain permit before commencing the peaceful protest.
The Commissioner of Police in the state, Mr. Francis Odesanya
charged the arrested persons to court on two counts of conspiracy to
felony and treasonable felony.
Seven of them were arraigned before Chief Magistrate Obi Amadi-Nna
and the remaining 38 brought before the Chief Magistrate, Sokari
Andrew-Jaja.
The Charge sheet No: PMC/112C/2017 read: “That you Baco
Johnson, Cosmos Monday, Chinonso Kalu and 42 others on January 20, 2017
at Garrison Bus stop, Port Harcourt in the Port Harcourt Magisterial
District did conspire amongst yourselves to commit felony to wit:
treasonable felony and thereby committed an offence punishable under
section 516A (1) of the Criminal Code Cap 37 Vol II Laws of Rivers State
of Nigeria, 1999.
“That you, Baco Johnson, Cosmos Monday, Chinonso Kalu and 42
others on the same date and time and place in the aforesaid Magisterial
District did conduct yourselves in a manner likely to force or compel
the president to change his measures, by displaying flags and other
items of the Biafran Republic with such intention by an act to take over
the government of Nigeria by force and thereby committed an offence
punishable under section 41(C) of the Criminal Code Cap 37 Vol II Laws
of Rivers State of Nigeria, 1999.”
When the court sat around 6:22 pm, the Chief Magistrate, Mr.
Sokari Andrew-Jaja, adjourned the matter till January 30 and asked the
parties involved in the matter to appear on the adjourned date with
their written addresses.
Andrew-Jaja stated that the adjourned date would be for the
adoption of written addresses, in order to determine whether the court
has the jurisdiction to hear the matter and remanded the suspects in
prison. However, the Chief Magistrate, Mr. Obi Amadi-Nna, who received
seven of the suspects also remanded them in prison and adjourned till
January 30 for adoption of written addresses on the same offences.
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