South African court refuses bail to 8 Nigerians accused of assaulting police and inciting public violence

 

A South African court refuses bail to eight Nigerians for public violence and assault on police.

Eight Nigerian citizens are facing many allegations including willful damage to property, interference with the law, assault, and public violence. The Kimberley Magistrates' Court in the Northern Cape, South Africa, has denied them bail.

Their arrests were reportedly the result of an altercation with the South African Police Service (SAPS) in which police officers were allegedly beaten and SAPS cars were destroyed.

The altercation happened when authorities were allegedly looking into allegations of narcotics possession involving Nigerian nationals.

The Northern Cape National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) in South Africa has declared that the case against the defendants has been rescheduled for July. Onogu Nwaemeka, Charles Aknaji, Umemba Sophuru, Amajoyi Tochukwu, Ebot Kennedy, Charles Okerie Onyedikashi, and Kelecho Oken are the names of the people mentioned.

The NPA regional spokeswoman, Mojalefa Senokoatsane, stated that the suspects allegedly demanded the release of a fellow Nigerian national, which led to the confrontation.

Senokoatsane detailed the turmoil that ensued, claiming that the Nigerian nationals attacked police personnel and damaged property.

The NPA representative further mentioned that the accused will be placed under an audio-visual remand system (AVR) for their next court appearance.

The SAPS Northern Cape provincial spokeswoman, Colonel Cherelle Ehlers, described the series of events that culminated in the arrests in a statement released in April. She emphasized the police's use of rubber bullets to scatter the crowd and the detention of suspects who were later charged with drug possession and public violence.

Ehlers went into detail on how the incident worsened and how other groups of Nigerian citizens damaged the police station and cars.

The accused are still being held in custody pending their next court appearance as the authorities carry out their investigation.