By Uzair Adam
An Abuja High Court on Thursday ordered the remand of a cleric, Amos Isah, over allegations of defiling a minor, pending the verification of an earlier bail granted to him.
Justice Modupe Osho-Adebiyi directed that Isah, who is the founder and General Overseer of Prophetic Voice of Fire Ministry International in Gwagwalada, be held at the Nigerian Correctional Service facility in Kuje, Federal Capital Territory.
The prosecution alleged that the cleric lured a 14-year-old girl to his office within the church premises, where the offence was committed.
According to the prosecution, the charges contravene Sections 3, 4, and 14 of the Violence Against Persons (Prohibition) Act.
The court gave the remand order after the defendant pleaded not guilty to an eight-count charge bordering on defilement.
Isah was initially arrested in June 2025 and arraigned on July 22, 2025, before a vacation judge, Justice J.E. Obanor, at a High Court in Maitama, where he also pleaded not guilty.
The case was later reassigned to Justice Osho-Adebiyi on March 11 following an application by the prosecution counsel, Aderonke Imana.
At the resumed hearing, the defence counsel, O.U. Sule (SAN), informed the court that his client had earlier been granted bail by another court.
However, Justice Osho-Adebiyi noted that no record of the bail or details of the sureties had been presented.
“His record of surety is not before the court; if I tell him to go, who am I releasing him to?” the judge queried.
Sule urged the court to release the defendant on self-recognition, but the request was declined.
He subsequently made an oral application for bail, which was opposed by the prosecution counsel, who cited engagement in another court proceeding.
The judge further observed that neither the sureties nor their documentation were before the court, making it difficult to consider the request.
“The defendant is hereby remanded in the correctional centre pending his bail determination,” Justice Osho-Adebiyi ruled.
The court directed the defence to notify the registrar once all necessary bail documents are ready and adjourned the matter until June 30 for the commencement of trial.
