A magistrate court in Kano has rejected the bail application of the five suspects arrested in connection with the murder of Bridget Agbahime, a 74-year-old woman who traded at Kofar Wambai market in Kano.
Agbahime was hacked to death on June 2 for allegedly speaking against Prophet Mohammed.
Subsequently, Ahmed Dauda, Abdullahi Mustapha, Zubairu Abubakar, Abdullahi Abubakar and Musa Abdulllahi were arrested and charged to court.
When the case came up for hearing on Tuesday, Gambo Abdulsalam, counsel to the accused, pleaded with the court to release the defendants, saying the allegations against them did not warrant their detention.
Ekwe Sunday, counsel to the plaintiff, opposed the bail application, arguing that the case is an established capital offence.
He said the right thing had been done by investigating the suspects and charging them to court.
All the accused persons were present in court while the arguments lasted.
After hearing the arguments from both sides, Mohammed Jibrin, the chief magistrate, ordered that the suspects be remanded in custody.