Bauchi — Two months after security agencies quelled a violent religious crisis in Bauchi, capital of Bauchi State, by a sect, Boko Haram, the state police command at Chief Magistrate's Court 11 yesterday slammed a total of eight count charges on the 184 suspected members of the religious group.

Their offences include treasonable felony, criminal conspiracy, unlawful possession of firearms and culpable homicide.

Other charges read out to the first batch of suspects, which comprise a female, include public disturbances and unlawful assembly, which violently caused the death of two persons in Bauchi.

After taking arguments for bail and jurisdiction from the prosecution counsel and the counsel to the accused persons, Chief Magistrate Aliyu Usman ordered the accused persons to be remanded in prison custody pending the transfer of the case to a court of competent jurisdiction within the state.

Prosecution counsel, ASP Bandawa, said the offences committed by the accused persons are not bailable and are punishable under Sections 221 and 441 of the Penal Code and Section 3 of the Robbery and Fire Arms Law Cap 146 of the Laws of Nigeria 1990.

He pleaded with the court to transfer the case to a court of competent jurisdiction.

However, counsel to the accused persons, Mr. Abubakar, argued that continuous detention of the accused persons violates their rights under Sections 41 of the Constitution since they are presumed innocent until proven guilty.

Abubakar also sought bail for his clients to enable them receive proper medical attention, saying their incarceration visibly exposed them to catarrh and other illnesses.

Chief Magistrate Usman, in his ruling, ordered the accused to be reminded in prison custody pending proper application for transfer of the case to a court of competent jurisdiction and directed the police to ensure that they have proper medical attention.

While briefing newsmen on the arraignment of the accused persons, the state Police Commissioner, Alhaji Yusuf Atiku Kafur, disclosed that after rigorous investigations, 11 of the suspects, including a female, were released when it was discovered that they had nothing to do with the religious sect and were only arrested because they were at the scene of the crime at the time of the incident.

Kafur further explained that 10 out of the 11 released were discovered to be athletes in the employ of the state Sports Commission and were practising Taekwondo at the IBB Square when security personnel raided the area in search of members of the sect.

He said the female, Rukayyatu Abdullahi, is a minor who was forcefully taken by Adamu Abdullahi, a member of the sect, from Liman Katagum without the consent of her parents.

The police boss said the delay in arraigning them was to ensure that no loopholes were left in the prosecution process, adding that "if you don't prosecute well, an offender will get away with the offence at the detriment of the entire society."

About two months ago, violent religious crisis orchestrated by Boko Haram sect had engulfed some states in the North, which led to loss of lives and destruction of property.

Members of sect, which means Western education is sin, had clashed with policemen in Bauchi, leaving many dead in the wake of the attack.

The violence soon spread to Borno, Yobe and Kano States with even more casualties recorded. The Maiduguri enclave of the sect was levelled by the Nigerian security forces. Though the military men had taken control of the headquarters of the sect, however, the fleeing members of the group were alleged to have set ablaze the Makera Police Station in the suburb of Maiduguri.