Kaduna journalist granted bail after court sets aside conviction

Farida Isiak, a 23-year-old journalist detained alongside her parents following a dispute over the sale of charcoal in Kaduna State, has been granted bail after a court set aside her conviction and allowed her to enter a fresh plea.

The development followed the intervention of her counsel, Mukhtar Abubakar, who challenged the proceedings that led to her conviction, arguing that she had pleaded guilty without legal representation and did not fully understand the implications of her plea.

PREMIUM TIMES reported that Usman Adamu, the divisional police officer (DPO) of Mararaban Jos in Kaduna State, detained the young journalist on 20 October after she published a Facebook post criticising the police over the arrest and detention of her parents following a dispute between her mother and a neighbour over N100 change from a charcoal sale.

Family sources said that after her arrest, police compelled her to delete the post and apologise to the DPO.

The police accused Ms Farida of defamation and subsequently took her to a Sharia court in Kawo on 21 October, and hastily sentenced her in the absence of a lawyer, thereby infringing on her right to a fair hearing.

The journalist who spoke to PREMIUM TIMES after her release said she confirmed to the court that she authored the deleted Facebook post.

The judge, Aliyu Adamu, subsequently sentenced her to four years’ imprisonment or a fine of N1.750 million naira.

Amnesty condemns arrest, detention and initial sentence

Amnesty International Nigeria condemned her arrest and initial sentencing, describing them as “vindictive” and accusing the police of using her parents’ detention to force her to report to the station over a Facebook post criticising their conduct.

The organisation said the Sharia court’s four-year jail sentence or N1.75 million fine followed a “sham trial” and called for the charges to be dropped and the police officers involved investigated.

However, the court later set aside the conviction after her counsel challenged the proceedings.

Ms Farida pleaded not guilty to the charges and was granted bail, with the case adjourned until 3 November.

Lawyers challenge conviction

Speaking about the court proceedings, Mr Abubakar said he arrived at the court while arrangements were being made to transfer Ms Farida to a correctional facility following her initial conviction.

The lawyer said Ms Farida had been arraigned, pleaded guilty and was convicted before the legal team arrived.

“We immediately intervened and halted the process because she had been arraigned, entered a guilty plea and was convicted without the presence of a lawyer,” he said.

According to him, the team approached the prosecutor and argued that Ms Isiak had not fully understood the proceedings or the consequences of pleading guilty.

The lawyer said the court had been informed that legal representation was on the way, but the proceedings continued in the lawyers’ absence.

“We argued that this raised serious concerns about her right to a fair hearing,” the lawyer said.

The lawyer said the prosecutor eventually agreed that there were grounds for the court to reconsider the proceedings.

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The legal team then applied to have the proceedings and conviction set aside and to allow Ms Farida to enter a fresh plea.

The court granted the application, set aside the earlier proceedings and conviction, and allowed her to plead afresh

Released on bail

The lawyer said the legal team’s immediate priority was to prevent Ms Farida from being transferred to a correctional facility before the issues surrounding her conviction could be addressed.

Mr Abubakar said the legal team subsequently secured her release on bail.

Under the bail conditions, her father and other relatives must stand as sureties to ensure she attends subsequent court proceedings, the lawyer said.

“The bail conditions are not onerous. Her father and relatives are to stand as sureties to ensure that she attends subsequent court proceedings,” he said.

The lawyer added that the case would now proceed through the normal trial process, with the prosecution expected to present its evidence at the next hearing.

“The police acted unprofessionally and failed to discharge their primary responsibility of maintaining peace and order in the community,” Mr Abubakar said. “Rather than de-escalating a dispute over a mere N100, they exacerbated the situation, turning a minor disagreement into a more serious conflict.”

The lawyer added that those expected to preserve peace had instead contributed to the escalation of the dispute.

Amnesty International called for the charges against Ms Farida to be dropped and an independent investigation into the police officers involved in the alleged unlawful detention of her family.