The bail hearing of embattled social critic Justice Chidiebere, popularly known as Justice Crack, was stalled on Thursday, May 14, after his counsel, Marshal Abubakar, withdrew the bail application in the ongoing cybercrime case. Justice Crack appeared before the Federal High Court in Abuja facing allegations of inciting soldiers to create discontent within the Nigerian Army.
Court Proceedings
At the resumed sitting, a lawyer from the office of the Attorney General of the Federation announced appearance for the prosecution, stating that the AGF was taking over the prosecution of the case. When it was time for the defendant's counsel to announce his appearance, both Olufemi Balogun and Marshal Abubakar stood up, each trying to announce the defendant's appearance simultaneously.
Dispute Over Counsel
Abubakar insisted that he was the counsel on record from the last adjourned date, while Balogun claimed he was briefed by the defendant to lead the case. Justice Joyce Abdulmalik asked the defendant who was leading his case, and Justice Crack identified Balogun as his lead counsel.
Shortly after, Marshal Abubakar withdrew from the matter, along with all applications he had filed. This move stalled the bail hearing because Abubakar's application was the only pending bail application before the court.
Fresh Bail Application
Balogun informed the court that he would file a fresh bail application. Justice Joyce Abdulmalik adjourned the case until May 18 for the hearing of the new bail application. She ordered the prosecution to open its case on the same day, warning that failure to do so would result in the case being struck out for lack of diligent prosecution.
