An FCT High Court in Jabi has again strike out a bail application filed by Maryam Sanda.
The trial judge, Justice Yusuf Halilu delivered the ruling by 12:20pm on Wednesday when giving ruling on the observation made by the court that a notice of appeal has been made against the court’s earlier ruling denying Maryam bail in December 14.
The judge held that, ” The proper thing to have done is to file notice of discontinuance of the appeal but having not done that the new motion filed on 25/1/2018 was brought for the irritation of the court and the prosecution counsel, and it is thereby struck out.”
The judge earlier held that, “A notice of appeal is the livewire that animates and sustains an appeal. It is the originating process which set the ball rolling for a proper commencement of an appeal,” the judge held.
He held that the Supreme Court defined abuse of court process to mean that the process of court have not been used bona-fide and properly.
“It is instructive to state that the relief sort in the notice of appeal to set aside my ruling and grant the
“The step taken by the defence counsel is such that ought to be observed closely. If the reliefs sort in the appeal and the new motion are same, the question is can I be asked to exercise discretion during pendency of the appeal.
“Filing and entering appeal are different issues. Appeal is considered filed when the notice is given to the trial court registrar and it is considered entered when appearances have been made and appeal number attached to it.
“I must warn myself to refrain from taking the part that will lead to destruction in that I want to avoid the situation where I sit on a matter already before my brother senior judges when the issue in contention originate from my court,” Justice Halilu ruled.
