A magistrate court in Owerri has ordered the remand of Gerald Irona, the immediate past Deputy Governor of Imo State.
According to Punch Newspaper, Magistrate C. N Ezerioha gave the order on Thursday that Irona is remanded in prison custody.
After hearing arguments from counsels in the suit, she held that the court does not have the jurisdiction to hear the case and ordered Irona’s remand at the Owerri correctional centre.
In case you missed it: Nairametrics had earlier reported that Irona was arrested by the state police command in his residence at Owerri on Wednesday. Nairametrics also reported that the state government reacted to the allegation that it was responsible for the arrest
What transpired in court: On Thursday, the Imo state police command arraigned Irona on three count charges bordering on treason, illegal possession of state government property and making utterances capable of causing unrest and chaos in the state.
While the defence counsel prayed the court to grant Irona bail on the grounds of self-recognition, the prosecution argued that the magistrate lacked the jurisdiction to hear the matter since one of the charges against Irona bordered on a felony.
In her ruling, the magistrate aligned with the submission of the prosecution that she lacked the jurisdiction to either grant Irona bail or entertain the matter.
She noted that only a high court can rule on the bail application or entertain such matters.
She directed the prosecution counsel to furnish the defence counsel with all necessary documents and ordered the case file to be transferred to the state Department of Public Prosecutions.
She, however, ordered the remand of Irona in prison pending the hearing and determination of the bail application by the state high court.
