The Judge adjourned case to May 6, held Umar at the Gombe Correctional Centre until the outcome of his bail application
Thomas Umar, Gombe State Coordinator of Take-It-Back Movement, has been remanded in prison by the Federal High Court in Gombe until the determination of his bail plea.
Umar was previously sued by Ali Isa, the House of Representatives Minority Whip, for remarks he made in 2020 that were quite critical of the speaker.
In 2020, when Umar was arrested for a Facebook post criticizing the lawmaker, the Nigeria Police Force granted him bail.
Umar accused the lawmaker of embezzling project funds in a post, which led to the allegations, according to human rights lawyer Ayuba Rabiu, Esq.
According to court documents, Umar and Yusuf Bindeka (currently at large) colluded to make a Facebook post to discredit Ali Isa, known as Laborollo, by accusing him of diverting constituency project funding.
Umar is further accused of publishing the politician’s use of religion for sabotage. Umar detailed the odd and distressing chain of events that had led up to his court appearance.
Umar said, “On January 20 this year, I was abducted in Bauchi State. The police tracked my phone, came to my hotel, blindfolded me, and transported me to Gombe without allowing me to pick any of my belongings.
“However, when the senior police officers reviewed the case, they noted that it was not an offence for which I should have been detained.
“After narrating the circumstances of my abduction, I was asked to go, and the matter was settled then and there.
“However, following the appointment of a new Commissioner of Police, the case was reactivated. This time, when the petition was written, neither I nor my lawyers were contacted for a response.
“They proceeded to file the case without reaching out to me. They filed a case regarding events from 2020, which had already been settled.
“I suspected foul play when I was told to come for an interview with the Deputy Commissioner of Police. But I was not in Gombe at the time, so I asked to come after returning from Abuja.
“Before my return, they went and arrested my surety, someone who had previously stood for me. This was despite the fact that they had only told me it was an interview, not a case.
“Upon my return, I visited the police station and was informed that they wanted to serve me court papers. I wondered why they didn’t give them to my lawyers or even the surety, since it was just court papers.
“I also questioned why they needed to arrest my surety when I had been in communication with them over the phone.”
On Wednesday, April 9, Thomas Umar’s defense team informed the judge that the charge was not yet appropriate for arraignment.
The prosecution asked for more time to respond to the defense team’s bail motion during Thursday, April 10’s court hearing.
Adjourning the case to May 6, the judge granted the prosecution’s motion.
Umar is currently being held at the Gombe Correctional Centre until the outcome of his bail application, which is still being processed.