COURT REMANDS 7 OVER RIOTING, ATTEMPT TO SET MUBI COMMUNITY ABLAZE

A Yola Chief Magistrate Court 2 in Adamawa state on Friday, remanded 7 young men over alleged rioting, causing panic and attempting to set Digil community in Mubi North Local Government Area, ablaze.

Chief Magistrate Ibrahim Ulenda, gave the order when the 7 accused persons were arraigned before him by the Commissioner of Police, CP Mohammed Ahmed Barde.

The defendants: Musa Ahmadu, Mohammed Abubakar, Umar Hamma, Ishaka Abubakar, Adamu Inuwa, Shamsudeen M. Nuhu and Usman Suleiman; are facing trial over alleged criminal conspiracy, disturbance of public peace, rioting while armed with offensive weapons, and attempt to commit offence to with mischief.

In First Information Report tendered in court by Inspector Ali Emmanuel, the Police Boss, informed Chief Magistrate Ulenda, that the defendants who were nabbed on the 20th September, 2021, committed the aforementioned offences contrary to sections 60, 79, 73 and 59 of the penal code law.

He told the court that a team of police led by the Divisional Police Officer(DPO) Mubi, Pius Paul, acted on a tip from Digil community, Mubi North LGA, as a result of which the defendants were apprehended.

According to him, the defendants criminally conspired and armed themselves with offensive weapons such as cutlasses, knives, petrol and invaded Digil in an attempt to set the whole community on fire, adding that the young men constituted themselves in an act of violence and rioting; thereby, causing chaos/panic in the community and breach of existing peace.

When the content of the FIR was read following an application by the prosecutor, all the defendants pleaded not guilty to all the charges.

Having heard the plea of the defendants, the prosecutor applied that they should be remanded in prison custody to enable the police complete investigation as well as transmit case file to the appropriate authority.

In his ruling, Chief Magistrate Ibrahim Ulenda, ordered for the remand of all the defendants in prison custody and adjourned the case to the 12th October, 2021.