Bauchi court grants bail to Islamic cleric Dr. Idris Abdulaziz
Story from Ahmad SAKA, Bauchi
The Chief Magistrate Court Number one in Bauchi has granted bail to Dr. Idris Abdulaziz, a Bauchi-based Islamic cleric from Dutsen Tanshi.
Dr. Idris was previously remanded in a correctional centre on charges of “public disturbance and inciting public unrest.”
Dr. Idris was accused by some Islamic organizations, led by Fitiyanul Isla, of delivering hate speeches against prominent clerics and Prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon him).
As the Chief Imam of the Dutsen Tanshi Jumaat mosque, he voluntarily appeared before the police for questioning, following which he was charged and taken to court.
During the court proceedings, Dr. Idris’s counsel applied for bail, but the judge initially denied the application.
READ ALSO: Police arraign Bauchi Islamic cleric for public disturbance
The judge ordered that the defendant be held in the correctional center and be brought before the court on Tuesday.
However, during the subsequent bail application hearing, Chief Magistrate Abdulfatah Baba Sekoni granted bail to Dr. Idris in the amount of one million Naira.
The bail conditions required two sureties, one of whom must be a serving Permanent Secretary, and the other a District head, both possessing landed property worth at least five million Naira within the jurisdiction of the court.
The sureties were also required to provide two passport photographs and valid means of identification.
Barrister Aliyu ibn Idris, representing the Bauchi State Ministry of Justice, applied for the office of the State Attorney General to take over the prosecution of the case from the Police, a request that the presiding magistrate allowed.
The case was adjourned to May 24th, 2023, for further mention.
It should be noted that last month, during his Ramadan sermon, the cleric allegedly made blasphemous statements about the Prophet.
This led to criticism from some Islamic scholars. However, there were also sections of clerics who supported Dr. Idris, claiming that his words were nothing but factual.
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