The Federal High Court in Abuja on Monday granted bail to activist and social media commentator Justice Mark Chidiebere, popularly known as Justice Crack, in the sum of N5 million over alleged cybercrime-related offences.
Delivering the ruling, Justice Joyce Abdulmalik ordered that the bail must be secured with one surety in like sum.
The court ruled that the surety must reside within the jurisdiction of the court at a verifiable address for not less than four years and must deposit proof of residence, either through a tenancy agreement or a certificate of occupancy, with the court registry.
Justice Abdulmalik further directed that the surety must be a federal civil servant not below Grade Level 15 and provide evidence of at least three months’ salary payments.
The judge also ordered the surety to submit a letter of authentication from the immediate head of department, proof of pensionable employment, an affidavit of means, and a recent passport photograph.
In addition, the defendant was ordered to surrender his international passport to the court pending the determination of the case.
DSS witness details investigation
Earlier during proceedings, prosecution counsel, M.L. Jackson, informed the court that the prosecution was ready to proceed with trial.
The first prosecution witness, identified as Uruntu Douglas, told the court that the defendant was transferred to the Department of State Services by the Nigerian Army Intelligence Corps for investigation.
According to the witness, Justice Crack voluntarily made an extra-judicial statement in the presence of his legal representatives.
The DSS operative alleged that some soldiers sent photographs to the defendant, who subsequently created videos from the images and shared them on social media platforms without first verifying the authenticity of the materials with military authorities.
He further stated that investigators extracted materials from the defendant’s mobile phone, including videos allegedly circulated online, chats between the defendant and some soldiers, conversations with an individual described as his “godfather” concerning alleged protest discussions, and excerpts from his social media activities.
The witness added that a certificate of compliance was issued and signed by a superior officer after forensic examination of the device was concluded.
Defence raises objection over evidence
During the proceedings, defence counsel Sam Amadi informed the court that the defence had not been served with the DSS investigation report and other documents the prosecution intended to tender.
The prosecution, however, described the omission as an oversight and apologised before the court.
Justice Abdulmalik subsequently admitted the DSS investigation report as Exhibit A.
The prosecution also tendered an iPhone allegedly recovered from the defendant, a flash drive said to contain videos posted online, extracted conversations from the device, and a certificate of compliance.
The defence objected to the admissibility of the flash drive, arguing that the contents had neither been properly described nor played in open court.
The matter was adjourned until May 25 for continuation of trial, while the first prosecution witness remains under examination.
The bail hearing had earlier been stalled on May 14 following disagreements within the defendant’s legal team over leadership of the defence, leading to the withdrawal of an earlier bail application before a fresh application was argued on Monday.
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