A Katsina State resident, Aminu Sanda, popularly known as Nesta, has been detained and charged with treasonable felony over allegations that he destroyed pro-President Bola Tinubu campaign billboards.
Sanda was initially invited by the police in Katsina and subsequently detained over allegations that he pulled down the president’s billboards and broke into the Katsina State Secretariat of the All Progressives Congress (APC), where he was accused of carting away N35 million.
However, Sanda has denied the allegations, including claims that he destroyed Tinubu’s billboards and broke into the APC secretariat to steal the money.
He described the allegations against him as unfounded.
Sanda was later transferred to the Force Headquarters in Abuja and subsequently remanded by a Magistrate Court sitting in Jiwa, Federal Capital Territory (FCT), on charges including treasonable felony.
The police had approached the court through a motion ex parte, seeking an order to remand him for two weeks to enable them to investigate the allegations.
However, when his lawyers appeared in court on Tuesday to seek his bail, the police also filed an application seeking a further two weeks to conclude their investigation.
The Magistrate, Huzaifa Macchudo, reserved ruling on the bail application.
According to Sanda’s lawyers, the decision to reserve ruling could allow the police to secure an extension of his remand while he remains in custody.
A source familiar with the matter confirmed that Sanda was arraigned on Tuesday.
He also confirmed that the case was adjourned to 15th of September for ruling on the bail application filed by counsel to Aminu.
Meanwhile, legal experts have raised concern over the charge of treasonable felony against the suspect.
“It’s shocking that removing a billboard would amount to a treasonable felony,” a human rights lawyer, Hameed Ajibola Jimoh said
“Felony has a definition. Treason also has a definition. Removing a billboard is political,” he said.
Jimoh said the allegations could potentially raise other legal issues, depending on the circumstances, but questioned how the alleged act could amount to a treasonable felony.
He said, “Such does not, to the best of my knowledge, amount to a treasonable felony, except we look at the section under which they are charging the person and what the law says.”
An Abuja-based legal practitioner, Barrister Abdurrahman Salis, described the treasonable felony charge against Sanda as “surprising”, arguing that the alleged pulling down of President Bola Tinubu’s billboard did not, on its face, fall within the legal definition of the offence.
“It is surprising. It would be surprising not only to a lawyer but even to a law student to see this kind of charge pressed against a person alleged to have pulled down the President’s billboard in Katsina State,” Salis said.
