Jailed blogger, Chris Kehinde Nwandu (CKN), Publisher of CKN Nigeria, is out on bail.
Nwandu who was curiously refused bail three times, was granted bail Tuesday by Justice Mohammed Yinusa.
Nwandu was held, at Ikoyi Prisons, as an accomplice in a subsisting case of defamation of character over a story published on Seun Oloketuyi’s website, naijahottestgist.com against the MD/CEO of Fidelity Bank, Mr Nnamdi Okonkwo.
His alleged crime was, he shared the alleged defamatory story about Okonkwo on his Facebook page.
Mrs. Oghogho Nwandu, had alleged that Justice Yunusa, without any reasons, adjourned her husband’s bail hearing till September 15, with the blogger remaining in jail at the Ikoyi Prisons
Afraid of her husband’s life and health, Mrs. Nwandu, appealed to the Judge to order the immediate release of her husband by granting him bail.
She said: “My husband’s right to bail and due process of the law is being abused by the Police at FSU. He has a right to face his accusers in the court and defend himself from the allegations. He appeared three times before the honorable Judge Muhammad Yunusa; each time he was denied bail without reasons”.
He is being charged with “accomplice to defamation” because he reposted a story of alleged affairs and infidelity involving the MD of Fidelity Bank of Nigeria. Yesterday was the third time my husband’s bail application was postponed.
“My husband is now very sick at the Ikoyi prison due to the unhealthy and inhuman condition of the prison. His life is continuously under threat and harassment in prison. I am pleading to Nigeria’s Human Rights organisations, The Nigerian Bar Association, Nigerian Union of Journalists, The National Human Rights Commission and Nigerians and world leaders and media organisations to help me seek bail for my husband. If he has been charged with any crime, he should not be in Jail, he should be given his due process and let justice prevail.
Please Justice Muhammad Yunusa, let my husband be bailed so that he would face the charges in court of law, not in Prison. He is innocent until proven guilty.
“Please set my husband free, allow due process of the law and grant my husband bail now. He has within the past five years, published over 20,000 stories: none has been libelous. He has also won over 10 local and international awards for outstanding performance in online journalism”.