Court Adjourns Jones Abiri’s Trial Until September 5

The Chief Magistrate’s Court in Abuja has adjourned the trial of a journalist, Mr Jones Abiri, until September 5. Magistrate Chukwuemeka Okafor adjourned the trail on Friday following the absence of the prosecutor and the defence counsel in court when the case was called. Mr Abiri, a Bayelsa-based journalist and publisher of the Weekly Source Magazine, was arrested on July 21, 2016, at his office in Yenagoa, the state capital. He was arrested for his alleged link to armed militancy in the Niger Delta region, an allegation he has since denied. The journalist was detained in custody of the Department of State Service (DSS) without trial for more than two years. Following public outcry, Abiri was eventually charged with the crime on July 27, 2018, at the Chief Magistrate’s Court. The court later granted him bail in the sum of N2 million and two sureties whom the court said must be civil servants not lower than level 12. He was set free on Wednesday after he was said to have met his bail conditions. ]]>