A Federal High Court sitting in Calabar presided over by Justice Simon Amobeda yesterday denied a Cross River-based journalist bail.
Agba Jalingo, the publisher of an online news outlet called Cross River Watch, was arraigned on September 25, 2019 on four charges of treasonable felony, terrorism and attempt to topple the Cross River State government.
He was arrested in his Lagos residence by men attached to the Intelligence Response Team of the Nigeria Police on August 22, 2019, a few days to the rescheduled interview date in respect to a petition bothering on his article which sought the whereabouts of the N500 million approved and released for the floating of the Cross River State Microfinance Bank.
He has been in detention for 43 days since he was picked allegedly on the orders of Governor Ben Ayade.
Justice Amobeda who also threw out the preliminary objection of the prosecution counsel, held that the charges were grave with one carrying capital punishment.
He also said that one of the grounds for which bail was applied for was health and there was no substantial evidence to prove that his health was failing.
