EFF Leader Gonquoi Spends Night in Prison

Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF), Emmanuel Gonquoi

The  leader of the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF), Emmanuel Gonquoi, and two of his followers will be spending their first night in jail at the Monrovia City Court, after their lawyers failed to release them on bail on Monday, August 9.

If Ginquoi and his co-defendants were to be released, their legal team would seek to convince Magistrate Jomah Jallah, by securing an appropriate bond and, when challenged by the prosecutors, it would be denied by Magistrate Jallah.

Oftentimes, in such a situation it is very difficult for the defense team to persuade a judge to accept bail, especially for someone like Ginquoi who is considered as anti-government.

With Ginquoi's lawyers allowing him to go to jail without first preventing him from being sent there, it would now be very difficult to release them sooner as they may have anticipated.

Ginquoi and his co-defendants were charged by the court based on a complaint filed by the Ministry of Justice (MoJ), accusing the defendants of storming the premises of the Capitol, which houses members of the National legislature.

Ginquoi, the court document claimed, led a group of his supporters there, where they allegedly inflicted wounds and injured one of the security guards that was protecting the building.

Not just inflicting the wounds, the record claimed they violently entered the compound from the side of the Executive Mansion, by breaking the lock and installing their own chain with a lock, having the intent to terrorize the staffers of the lawmakers and other employees.

They were subsequently charged with multiple criminal offenses, including terroristic threat, simple assault, felonious restraint and disorderly conduct.