Scores of Chieftains of Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, in Oyo State have started an intensive lobby to secure bail for one of the party’s senatorial aspirant, Chief Bisi Ilaka, who was charged alongside his security aide with an alleged murder of two people in Oyo, his hometown recently.
Ilaka, who is the Ladilu of Oyo, and his aide, Temitayo Olumide, appeared before Chief Magistrate Jejelola Ogumbona on Wednesday on a five count charge of conspiracy murder and unlawful possession of gun.
The Magistrate ordered that they should be remanded in prison custody till September 18 this year to enable the state Director of Public Prosecutions advise the court on their trial.
His colleagues in the PDP, this newspapers learnt, have began moves to secure his bail through High court as the Magistrate court has no jurisdiction to try murder case even when he reappears on September, 18.
His counsel, Barr.Abiodun Abdulraheem, had prayed the court to grant him bail as the defendant, his client has a medical history of hypertension.
The Magistrate however ordered that the defendants be remanded at Agodi Prison pending the outcome of the case file from the Oyo State Directorate of Public Prosecutions.
“The first defendant, Ilaka, should be given free access to see a doctor while in prison for the sake of his hypertension according to his lawyer’s plea,” Magistrate Ogunbona ordered.
She adjourned the case till September 18 for mention.
Recalled that last Saturday at the palace of Alaafin Oyo, the senatorial aspirant was at Oranyan festival when some hoodlums blocked him while leaving the scene in order to collect money from him.
After several abortive efforts to leave, his security aide was said to have shot into the air but the bullets hit three people; two of who died on the spot and a woman among them was rushed to the general hospital in the town.