Armed police subdue Abdula Ganiji after they had rushed his car and dragged him out outside the New South Wales state Parliament in central Sydney. Photo / AP
Armed police subdue Abdula Ganiji after they had rushed his car and dragged him out outside the New South Wales state Parliament in central Sydney. Photo / AP
58-year-old had fuel and cigarette lighter in his car, NSW magistrate hears
A disgruntled former taxi driver who sparked a two-hour standoff outside the New South Wales state parliament will remain behind bars after being refused bail.
Abdula Ganiji caused a lockdown of Macquarie St in central Sydney when he drove his white car on to the footpath outside the parliamentary complexon Friday.
A police officer sprays tear gas into the vehicle to end the protest. Photo / AP
For more than two hours, the 58-year-old from the Wollongong area passed lists of demands from inside the car to plain-clothes police negotiators.
The drama ended dramatically just before 2pm when up to a dozen heavily armed tactical officers swarmed the vehicle, fired a canister of gas inside and dragged Ganiji into custody.
He was charged with threatening sabotage, possessing an explosive device to damage property and threatening to destroy or damage property.
Yesterday, a Parramatta court heard that a 2-litre fruit juice container, fuel and a cigarette lighter were found in Ganiji's car.
Defence lawyer Jane Healey didn't apply for bail on her client's behalf, and it was formally refused by Magistrate Allan Moore.
Moore told Healey he would be sympathetic to a bail application "if I had some psychiatric material before me".
