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SaharaReporters learnt that Hon. Justice C.O. Agasheze of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) High Court declined the bail application on Thursday, citing what he described as “orders from above.”
An Abuja High Court has refused to grant bail to a young mother and her eight-month-old baby who have been languishing at the Suleja Prison, Niger State, since March 2025, following their arrest during a #FreePalestine protest.
SaharaReporters learnt that Hon. Justice C.O. Agasheze of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) High Court declined the bail application on Thursday, citing what he described as “orders from above.”
A witness who attended the proceedings told SaharaReporters: “The bail application was moved today at the FCT High Court. But the judge refused the bail application on the ground that his superior did not give him the go-ahead to release them. He said he couldn’t grant the bail because the remand order used to detain them since March was signed by the FCT High Court 4, who is superior to him. The judge simply told us it is the order from above stopping him from granting the ruling.”
The detainee’s husband, Misbau, also confirmed the development to SaharaReporters, lamenting the continued detention of his wife and baby without trial.
“The remand order was signed by the judge in March and they have not been arraigned. Nothing has been done. They were only abandoned in jail together with my daughter. The judge today said it is only the Chief Judge or any of his superiors that could release them. I even stood up to address the court and begged them to at least consider my daughter,” he said.
As earlier exclusively reported by SaharaReporters, the ordeal began on March 28, 2025, when Misbau’s wife, a tailor, was arrested alongside their then three-month-old baby during a protest in Abuja.
She had gone to deliver clothes to a customer who turned out to be part of the demonstration when Nigerian security forces launched a violent crackdown.
“My wife is a tailor. She went to deliver clothes to a customer at the protest ground. Suddenly, police and soldiers started shooting and arresting people. She was carrying our baby on her back and could not run. They arrested her on the spot,” Misbau recounted.
Since then, both mother and child have been held at Suleja Prison under a remand order obtained by the Nigerian police.
No charges have been filed, no trial has been held, and no explanation has been given for their detention.
“They have been there for five months now without trial. My wife and our baby are very sick. They have not been given access to proper medical treatment. The authorities have abandoned them,” Misbau told SaharaReporters.
The case has raised serious concerns about judicial independence and human rights abuses under President Bola Tinubu’s government.
Rights activists have described the detention of an infant and mother without trial as a blatant violation of Nigeria’s constitution and international conventions.
The refusal of the court to grant bail — citing “orders from above” — has further fueled suspicion that the case is being politically influenced to silence voices sympathetic to the Palestinian cause.
“I am traumatised as a father and husband, watching my wife and baby suffer this injustice,” Misbau said. “All I want is justice. I am calling on President Tinubu and all well-meaning Nigerians to help me get them out of prison.”
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Source: SaharaReporters.com | Read the Full Story…
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