A former governor of Plateau
State, Jonah Jang has asked a High Court of the Federal Capital Territory in
Abuja to order his release from the custody of the Economic and Financial
Crimes Commission.
The ex-governor said he was
diabetic.
Jang approached the court barely
72 hours after his arrest by the EFCC over an alleged N6.3bn fraud.
Jang, in a motion on notice filed
by his team of lawyers led by Christopher Eichie, Yakubu Philemon, and Kola
Oseni, said his continued detention by the EFCC had made it difficult for him
to receive medical attention, which has made his “blood sugar control to be in
a bad state.”
A copy of the court processes was
given to journalists during a press conference jointly addressed by his media
consultant, Clinton Garuba, and another member of his legal team, David Dusu.
While Dusu said he had filed an
action at the Plateau State High Court in Jos to press for Jang’s bail, Garuba
condemned the manner he was picked, describing his predicament as “politically
motivated.”
Dusu said, “Jang was told by the
EFCC operatives that he would see the EFCC chairman (Ibrahim Magu); but as soon
as he got to the Tunde Idiagbon Block in the commission, he was told he
couldn’t go home and that has been the case. He has been kept in the EFCC
custody since Monday and has not been charged to court.
“Ironically, both the EFCC and
the Independent Corrupt Practices and other-related offences Commission are
charging him with the same issue. We are seeing some political intimidation. We
are not in a banana republic where anything can happen. They have kept him for
72 hours, the EFCC is holding him unconstitutionally. We are appealing to
Nigerians to mount pressure on the EFCC to release Jang.”
The Peoples Democratic Party had
in its reaction asked the EFCC to grant Jang bail because of “his health
condition and the fact that he is denied access to his lawyers, family and
medication.”
Speaking with journalists in Jos,
the Chairman of the PDP in Plateau State and a former Minister of Sports,
Damishi Sango, said, “As a sitting senator of the Federal Republic of Nigeria,
Jonah David Jang who is presently in the custody of the EFCC has been denied
bail. This, we consider as a gross violation of his fundamental human rights as
provided under the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
“In making the appeal for the
release of Senator Jang, we are mindful of his health condition and the fact
that he is being denied access to his lawyers, family and medication.
“Jang is under threat because of his
presidential ambition. If anybody wants to be President, the present government
will hold and twist the person’s neck. They think that Jang has large
supporters in Plateau State and that if allowed, his popularity might
jeopardise their chances in the 2019 election. But the people of Plateau State
have taken a decision to sack the APC in 2019.”
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