A nephew of Kogi State Governor Yahaya Bello, Ali Bello, was granted bail in the amount of N500 million by the Abuja Federal High Court on Monday.
He Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), on February 8, indicted Mr. Bello along with Abba Adauda, Yakubu Siyaka Adabenege and Iyada Sadat on money laundering charges. The offences, according to the anti-corruption agency, involved an alleged misappropriation of more than N3 billion.
Mr. Bello’s wife, Rashida Bello, who is allegedly involved in the alleged crimes, is said to be on the run.
They were subsequently sent to prison after the defendants pleaded not guilty to the 18 count charge.
But in admitting the defendants on bail on Monday, the judge said the charges were free of bail.
Mr. Egwuatu held that the essence of bail is to give the defendant adequate time to prepare for trial.
Subsequently, the judge awarded the defendants the sum of N500 million each, with two bonds of equal sum.
The judge said that the collateral must reside in Abuja, with identifiable address and ownership of own land worth N500 million within the jurisdiction of the Abuja Federal High Court.
Mr. Egwuatu held that the original title documents for such property must be deposited with the court recorder, in addition to evidence of payment of taxes for three years, from 2020 to 2022.
Additionally, defendants must present their international passports to the court and can only travel if they obtain permission from the court.
The judge adjourned the case until April 16 for trial.
The defendants will remain in prison pending compliance with the conditions of their bail.
Background
On February 14, when the defendants appeared in court for their bail application hearing, their lawyer, Ahmed Raji, urged the court to admit his clients on bail on “liberal terms”.
Mr. Raji, Senior Counsel for Nigeria (SAN), maintained that the Nigerian constitution presumes the innocence of the accused until proven guilty.
But he noted that the issue of bail is at the discretion of the court.
The defense attorney maintained that “there is no evidence to support all the allegations in the counter-affidavit” filed by the EFCC in opposition to the bail application.
Mr. Raji recalled that the anti-corruption agency had bailed out its clients while investigating the matter.
“For more than a year, they have been investigated and the EFCC admitted the defendants on bail.
“They (EFCC) gave him the international passport of the third defendant and he traveled to Saudi Arabia and back.
“The defendants will not flee. The problems are mere complaints, ”he argued, urging the judge to grant the defendants bail.
Opposing the defendants’ bail request, however, EFCC lawyer Kabiru Hussain said Bello “is a flight risk.”
Hussain drew the court’s attention to the allegedly vast resources in the possession of the Kogi governor’s nephew.
“Given the enormous amount of resources available to the first defendant and his influence in the (Kogi) state, we urge this Court to deny him bail,” Mr. Hussain urged the court.
He argued that “defendants have the ability to skip bail, comprehend witnesses, and destroy evidence.”
Countering defense counsel’s argument that the defendants were on administrative bail, Mr Hussain said: “Now that the defendants have been confronted with the proof of the evidence and now understand the seriousness of the issues against them , they are more likely to jump bail. ”