By Austin Ajayi, Yola
A Magistrate’s Court sitting in Yola, on Friday, granted bail to Adamawa lawmaker Mr Simon Isa, representing Song constituency in the Adamawa State House of Assembly in a case of cheating brought against him
The Magistrate, Mr Daniel John, granted to bail to the lawmaker in the sum of N500,000 and one surety in a like sum adding that the surety must be resident within the jurisdiction of the court.
The bail was granted following a ruling by the court that the lawmaker has a case to answer after a preliminary objection was raised by counsel to the defendant, Hon. Simon Isa.
The trial magistrate, Mr. Daniel John, in his ruling said that the the notice of complaint brought against the lawmaker was in line, sitting section 111(A) of Administration of Criminal Justice Law of Adamawa state 2018, that the defendant art has criminal trendies and ordered that the defendant takes his plea.
Counsel to the defendant Mr. Sule Abu had objected to the notice, stating that there is no criminal nation in the notice of complaints sitting section 397 of ACJL Adamawa state
The defendant pleaded not guilty to the notice of complaints against him after the notice was read to him.
The couunsel to the defendant had applied for bail for the defendant by self recognizance stating that the defendant is a serving member of Adamawa state House of Assembly but this was objected to by counsel to the compliant.
2018.
The court also vacated an earlier order to arrest the lawmaker for failure to appear before the court over alleged charge of cheating a businessman of N490,000.
The order was issued after the magistrate confirmed that the registrar personally served the lawmaker with the court summons in the criminal trial.
The Magistrate, while vacating the order, noted that the order was made in error as the case was scheduled to hold on the 13th and not 12th of February, 2020.
It could be recalled that “the Court Registrar has testified before the court that he personally served Mr Simon Isa with summons to appear before the court on Wednesday 12, February .
”Since there is evidences that Simon Isa was duly served, the law is no respecter of anybody,” the magistrate said.
According to the criminal summons marked CMC/9462/2019, Simon Isa on Feb. 20, 2014, bought a 25KVA DENYO generator at N2,490,000, but paid N2million with an outstanding balance of N490,000.
The charge said that all efforts to get the balance of the money since then had failed.
The act, the charge said, was tantamount to cheating and contrary to Section 320 of the Penal Code Law of Adamawa State.
The case was adjourned to March. 5th, for hearing.
