Solomon Akuma, a pharmacist detained  since April 2020 by the  Federal government  was released on Thursday   after  a court of Appeal ruling

He was arrested on April 2, 2020, in Abia State  by policemen attached to the Force Criminal Investigation Department (FCID) over a comment on tweeter threatening President Buhari and (Abba) Kyari (Buhari’s former Chief of Staff.

His release followed a  Court of Appeal ruling, ordering the immediate release of the  30-year-old pharmacist, who was standing trial on a trumped-up charge bordering on terrorism. The three-man panel sitting at the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja,  in its ruling on Thursday ordered the Nigerian Correctional Services to release Mr. Akuma from custody after spending almost three years in illegal custody.

It would be recalled that Solomon Akuma had asked the trial judge Justice Folashade Giwa-Ogunbanjo of the Federal High Court, Abuja to withdraw from the case after being accused of bias. He said he would not be able to get justice before the judge and he, therefore, asked the Chief Judge to reassign the case.

The trial judge had on November 22, 2021, while delivering her judgment struck out the case against Solomon on the ground that it was defective and that there was no valid charge before the court. She also held that the case was not diligently prosecuted. But the judge failed to order the discharge of the defendant from prison custody.

SaharaReporters had on December 31 reported that Akuma was transferred from Kuje Correctional Centre in the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, to the Suleja Medium Security Custodial Centre, Niger State after he was accused of giving information to SaharaReporters newspaper.