Abuja Magistrate Court frees Ndume

An Abuja Chief Magistrate Court on Monday terminated the case against a member of the Presidential Committee on Security Challenges in North-East, Senator Ali Ndume.The Senator is on trial after being named by the spokesman for Boko Haram, Ali Konduga, as one of the sects sponsors.The development followed a case filed against him at the Federal High Court Abuja by the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Bello Adoke.In the fresh case at the Federal High Court, Ndume was charged with alleged disclosure of classified information to a terrorist spokesman for Boko Haram, Ali Sanda Konduga, also known as Al-Zawahiri, thereby committing an offence contrary to Section 3 (b) of the Terrorism Prevention Act 2011.He was also accused of providing logistics and supplying telephone numbers of some public officers to Konduga.As a result of the development, hearing in a bail application filed by the embattled Senator at the Abuja Chief Magistrates Court, presided by Chief Magistrate Oyebiola Oyewumi, which was slated for hearing on Monday, could no longer be heard.Oyewumi struck out the charges filed against Ndume following an application for discontinuance of the case, and withdrawal of the First Information Report, by the State Security Services prosecutor, Mr. Cliff Osagie.At the resumption of hearing, Osagie informed the court that fresh charges similar to the one before it had been filed against the Senator at the Federal High Court.Osagie therefore applied to withdraw the First Information Report upon which Ndume was arraigned before the Chief Magistrates Court.The prosecutor told Oyewumi that, as a result of the fresh, similar charges against Ndume at the Federal High Court, there was no need to continue the trial at the Chief Magistrates Court.But she stated that the trial of the self confessed spokesman for Boko Haram, who was convicted by the court on November 2, 2011, after pleading guilty to charges brought against him, would continue.Ndume, was arraigned alongside Konduga on November 2, 2011, but while the latter pleaded guilty, the former denied the charges brought against him.They were arraigned after being charged with conspiracy to commit felony, breach of official trust, criminal intimidation by anonymous communication by sending text messages to some senior public officials including the Attorney-General of the Federation, contrary to Section 79, 98 and 398 of the Criminal Procedure Code.But the Chief Magistrates Court will today make a pronouncement on Kondugas conviction.
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