Justice
O. Ottaba of the Special Criminal Division of the Banjul High Court yesterday
ruled in favour of Momodou Sajo Jallow, the detained Ex-Deputy Foreign Affairs
Minister, who was under NIA custody, and granted him bail of D200,000.
According
to his lawyer A.A.B. Gaye, the applicant was detained by the NIA incommunicado
and was not charged or brought to court, nor told why he was arrested and
denied access to his family.
He
has been under NIA custody for one month now.
Senior
counsel Gaye then filed a motion, seeking an order to unconditionally release
the applicant from NIA headquarters in Banjul on bail.
The
applicant was arrested on 2 September 2016, by plainclothes officers at Manjai
and detained at the NIA.
In
his ruling, Justice Ottaba recalled that the application was brought under
section 19 of the constitution and section 99 of the Criminal Procedure Code.
He
said according to the affidavit, the applicant since his arrest had been held
incommunicado and denied access to family and had not been charged or arraigned
before a court of law.
He
had not been released conditionally or unconditionally, and the reason for his
arrest was not known.
Justice
Ottaba held that he would exercise his discretion judicially and judiciously by
granting bail to the applicant on the following terms:
Bail
was granted to the applicant of D200,000 with two Gambian sureties, with a
property.
The
accused person must submit his travel documents to the principal registrar of
the high court and the sureties should swear to an affidavit of means.
