Former Bayelsa Security Adviser, Perekeme Kpodoh, has been granted bail over alleged two-count charge of rape filed against him by the state government.
The Court of Appeal sitting in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, granted Kpodoh his bail condition after several attempts failed in Bayelsa state.
In suit case CA/PH/17CR/2019, the Court of Appeal presided over by Justice M. Mustapha, ordered his immediate release from the Okaka Medium Prison custody, having met the bail condition in the sum of N2million and a surety of a Civil Servant of Level 14 grade.
Kpodoh was arrested by the men of the Bayelsa Police Command on July 26, 2018, but was denied bail by the State High Court sitting in Yenagoa headed by Justice E. Eradiri in spite of the plea of innocence and on health grounds.
Kpodoh, in his bid for bail, also filed a petition before the Bayelsa Chief Judge, Justice Kate Abiri, on the need for case transfer to another court based on alleged suspicion of bias and government involvement in seeing him jailed.
But Justice M. Mustapha, in his ruling on Thursday in the Appeal filed by Kpodoh on March 18, 2019, with suit number CA/PH/17CR/2019, answered all four prayers sought by the accused/Applicant for bail.
According to the Court of Appeal, in the ruling witnessed by the counsel to the Applicant, D. D. Federekumo and J. Iyekoroghe and counsel to the State Government, Raymond Olorogun, “the prayer for extension of time for bail is granted pending the determination of his trial at the State High Court”.
“Leave is granted for the accused to apply for bail pending determination of trial and he is granted bail pending the trial at the determination of the alleged offence of rape at the trial court in the sum of N2milliom with surety in the like sum.”
Speaking after the ruling and release of Kpodoh, his counsel, Iyekoroghe commended the judicial processes that granted their prayers.
“The court has done justice. Ordinarily, bail should have been granted by the State High court. It is a clear case of freedom and constitution guaranteed. We wonder why he was denied bail at the trial court,” he said.
“it is a thing of joy that in criminal jurisprudence, the trial court is not the final. We had expected that the trial court should grant bail as the charges are bailable. We went to the Appeal Court and they agreed with us. We thank the court and by our client pedigree, we know he would abide by the bail conditions.”
