A Federal High Court in Abuja has granted bail to activist and social media commentator Justice Chidiebere, popularly known as “Justice Crack,” over allegations bordering on cybercrime.

Delivering ruling on the bail application, Justice Joyce Abdulmalik granted the defendant bail in the sum of N5 million with one surety in the same amount.

The court ruled that the surety must reside within the court’s jurisdiction at a fixed address for at least four years and provide proof of residence through either a tenancy agreement or a certificate of occupancy deposited with the court registry.

Justice Abdulmalik further ordered that the surety must be a federal civil servant not below Grade Level 15 and provide evidence of at least three months’ salary payments, proof of pensionable employment and a letter of authentication from the immediate head of department.

The surety was also directed to deposit a valid passport with the court.

During the proceedings, the first prosecution witness, identified as Uruntu Douglas, told the court that he became involved in the case after being transferred from the Nigerian Army Intelligence Corps to the Department of State Services (DSS).

The witness stated that the defendant voluntarily made an extrajudicial statement in the presence of his lawyers during the course of the investigation.

According to Douglas, some soldiers allegedly sent photographs to the defendant, who then created videos from the images and uploaded them on social media platforms without first verifying the authenticity of the materials with military authorities.

He also told the court that investigators extracted data from the defendant’s mobile phone, including videos allegedly published online, conversations between the defendant and certain soldiers, chats allegedly relating to protests and excerpts from his social media accounts.

The witness added that a certificate of compliance was issued and signed by a superior officer after the forensic examination was completed.

During the hearing, defence counsel Sam Amadi informed the court that the defence team had not been served with the investigation report and other documents the prosecution intended to tender as evidence.

The prosecution described the omission as an oversight and apologised to the court.

Justice Abdulmalik subsequently admitted the DSS investigation report as Exhibit A.

The prosecution also tendered an iPhone allegedly recovered from the defendant, a flash drive said to contain videos posted online, extracted conversations from the device and the certificate of compliance.

However, the defence objected to the admissibility of the flash drive, arguing that its contents had neither been described nor played before the court.

The matter was adjourned until May 25 for continuation of trial, with the first prosecution witness yet to conclude testimony.