Guaranty Trust (GT) Bank Manager defendant Ayodeji Bejide’s lawyer has filed a US$50,000 bond with the Monrovia City Court to secure his release, and surrendered the defendant’s two passports to the court to ensure his submission for hearing Tuesday, 4 September.
The Nigerian national is charged with aggravated assault for allegedly hitting his Liberian staff Edward Freeman’s face with a calculator and wounding the victim’s lip on 28 August during staff meeting.
He was taken to Court Friday, 31 August under a writ of habeas corpus from Criminal Court “B” based on his lawyer’s complaint that defendant Ayodeji was being held by police beyond statutory time of 48 hours.
But defendant Ayodeji was later arrested outside Criminal Court “B” on Friday on the order of the Monrovia Magisterial Court and placed on prisoner’s bench.
Monrovia City Court Stipendiary Magistrate Kennedy Peabody says the defendant filed a US$50,000 criminal appearance bond and his lawyer Cllr. Abrahim B. Sillah was made to sign for his release.
The Magistrate says the Court took defendant Ayodeji’s two passports, and made Cllr. Sillah to sign and assure his submission to the Court for a conference due Tuesday at 10 a.m.
Outside the Monrovia City Court, Cllr. Sillah claims that there was no intent on the part of prosecution to have brought his client to court, which made him to petition Court “B” for habeas corpus to compel the state to submit the defendant to court.
Cllr. Sillah claims that “people have committed murder in this country, they have been admitted to bail” and their rights have not been violated like keeping them in detention for those number of days.
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He says he doesn’t know what really is so special about the aggravated assault case brought against defendant Ayojedi.
“Sir, Hans Williams was accused of murdering Angel … in this country; at the police investigation at each point of the investigation he was turned over to his lawyer,” Cllr. Sillah argues.
He says if Hans Williams was turned over to his counsel at each point of the investigation until police concluded that there was need to charge him, then what’s about somebody who is accused of “aggravated assault or simple assault?”
Both parties are due to appear before the City Court on Tuesday at 10:00 a.m. at the Temple of Justice.
By Winston W. Parley-Edited by Othello B. Garblah
