Court Grants Ex-Accountant General, 2 Others Bail  


Post created on 12:35 pm

 

 

Six days after he was remanded in prison custody, an Abuja High Court sitting at Maitama, on Thursday, granted bail to the former Accountant-General of the Federation, AGF, Ahmed Idris.

In a ruling by the court delivered by Justice Adeyemi Ajayi, he adopted all the terms and conditions of the administrative bail the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, earlier gave the ex-AGF and his two co-defendants.

“In line with the due process and supremacy of the law, the Defendants are still entitled to bail, irrespective of the enormity of the allegations against them.

Justice Ajayi noted that “The EFCC did not in any of its processes, stated that the Defendants misbehaved while on administrative bail.”

Consequently, as part of the conditions for the release of the Defendants on bail, the court, held that they must remain within the Federal Capital Territory FCT, Abuja, adding that they must seek consent before traveling out.

The court further ordered the Defendants to depose to an affidavit of assurance to abide by all their bail conditions.

It directed the Defendants to surrender their international passports and also give assurance that they would not procure alternate passports during the pendency of the case.

Justice Ajayi held that the Defendants should remain in Kuje prison until they can perfect their bail conditions. Other Defendants in the matter, are Godfrey Olusegun Akindele, Mohammed Kudu Usman, and Gezawa Commodity Market and Exchange Limited.

The 14-count charge against them borders on conspiracy, criminal breach of trust, and money laundering.

The Defendants, who earlier pleaded not guilty to the charge against them, had through their respective lawyers, begged the court to release them on bail

They predicated their bail applications on Sections 35 and 36 of the 1999 Constitution, as amended, as well as on Sections 159 and 162 of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act, ACJA, 2015.

However, the EFCC, in a counter affidavit it filed on July 26, urged the court to consider the nature and gravity of the charge, the cogency of the proof of evidence against the Defendants as well as the severity of the punishment upon their conviction.

EFCC’s lawyer, Mr. Rotimi Jacobs, SAN, argued that contrary to the position of the Defendants, he said the allegation of criminal breach of trust against them would attract 14 years imprisonment.

 


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