A Federal High Court sitting in Abuja has granted bail to Isaac Bristol, identified by the police as the whistleblower behind PIDOMNigeria account on X.
Justice Emeka Nwite granted Bristol N5 million bail with one surety in like sum.Justice Nwite gave the ruling in response to a motion on notice submitted by Deji Adeyanju, who led Bristol’s team of lawyers.
The motion on notice is a formal request to the court to take a specific action or make a particular decision.
In this case, Adeyanju’s team filed the motion, and Justice Nwite delivered a ruling, which is a judicial decision made by a judge after considering the arguments and evidence presented.
Nwite also ruled that the defendant must deposit his passport with the court.
The court ruled that the surety must be resident in Abuja and depose to an affidavit of means. The surety must also provide evidence of three years’ tax clearance with two passport-sized photographs.
Bristol, who has been remanded in the Kuje Correctional Centre since September 11, is standing trial for alleged treason and for mobilising and soliciting support to “unduly compel” the government to act or abstain from certain acts through the #EndBadGovernance protests, false money-laundering allegations against President Bola Tinubu, and unlawfully obtaining, retaining and disseminating classified secret documents in contravention of the official Secret Act 1962.