Martin’s Owoseni
ABUJA – A Federal High Court sitting in Nigeria’s capital Abuja has granted bail to Isaac Bristol, identified by the police as the whistleblower behind PIDOMNigeria account on X.
The presiding judge, Justice Emeka Nwite granted Bristol ₦5 million bail with one surety in like sum.
Justice Nwite gave the ruling in response to a motion on notice submitted by Deji Adeyanju, who led Bristol’s team of lawyers.
The motion on notice is a formal request to the court to take a specific action or make a particular decision.
In this case, Adeyanju’s team filed the motion, and Justice Nwite delivered a ruling, which is a judicial decision made by a judge after considering the arguments and evidence presented.
The jurist also ruled that the defendant must deposit his passport with the court.
The court ruled that the surety must be resident in Abuja and depose to an affidavit of means. The surety must also provide evidence of three years’ tax clearance with two passport-sized photographs.
Bristol, who has been remanded in the Kuje Correctional Centre since September 11, is facing trial for alleged treason and for mobilising and soliciting support to “unduly compel” the government to act or abstain from certain acts through the recent #EndBadGovernance nationwide protests, false money-laundering allegations against President Bola Tinubu, and unlawfully obtaining, retaining and disseminating classified secret documents in contravention of the official Secret Act 1962.