On Wednesday, three people were arraigned before a Federal High Court sitting in Ibadan over the January 16 explosion in the Bodija area of Ibadan.
The sitting presided over by Justice E.U. Akpan has the Federal Republic of Nigeria as the claimant, while the trio of Ramotu Camara, Ganiyu Malik, and Abubakar Samasa are defendants in a five-count charge.
Camara, Malik, and Samasa are accused of conspiring with one another to commit felony with explosives, lethal devices, the handling and use of radioactive materials, nuclear materials, and the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, an offence deemed punishable under Section 26 of the Terrorism (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022.
The trio were also accused of unlawfully delivering explosives or other lethal devices inside a building, which led to the deaths of Bolanle Badmus and 13 others, thereby committing an offence contrary to Section 42 (a) and (b) of the Terrorism (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022.
Camara, 47 years old; Malik, 20 years old; and Samasa, 64 years old, are also facing a charge of unlawfully dispersing radioactive or nuclear materials inside a building without lawful authority that led to the deaths of 14 people and is an offence punishable under Section (1) (a) of the Terrorism (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022.
Also, the defendants face a charge of unlawfully stockpiling and storing nuclear weapons, chemical weapons, and biological weapons inside a building that exploded and caused the deaths of 14 persons, thereby committing an offence contrary to Section 58 (1) of the Terrorism (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022.
The defendants, through their counsel, M. Adeola Adebayo, pleaded not guilty to the charges that had Mr Michael Ojeah under police prosecution.
The presiding judge, Justice E. U. Akpan, ordered the defendants to be remanded at the Agodi Correctional Centre as hearings in the case were adjourned until April 11.