Bankole, deputy, get steep bail conditions

A Federal Capital Territory High Court on Thursday granted strigent bail conditions to the former Speaker of the House of Representatives, Mr. Dimeji Bankole, and his erstwhile deputy, Alhaji Bayero Nafada.


They were arraigned on Monday by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission on a 17-count charge of allegedly obtaining loans totalling N37.7bn from two commercial banks and using same to unlawfully raise the remuneration of members of the House in violation of extant regulations on public officers, pay.

Their arraignment took place shortly after a Federal High court in Abuja had granted bail to Bankole, who had been arraigned last week on a separate 16-count charge.

On Thursday, Justice Suleiman Belgore granted Bankole and Nafada bail in the sum of N50m and two sureties in like sum.

The judge said the sureties must be civil servants not lesser than permanent secretaries and who must be living in Abuja.

The two former principal officers of the House, however, returned to the EFCC custody on Thursday pending when they will be able to meet the bail conditions.

Belgore had while granting the bail to the two accused persons also directed them to make their travel documents available to the EFCC.

Earlier, the judge granted the request of the lead defence counsel, Mr. Adegboyega Awomolo (SAN), to consolidate the applications of Bankole and Nafada for bail . Awomolo, who argued that bail was a fundamental right of an accused especially if the case was not a serious felony, prayed the court to grant the accused persons bail on self- recognition, more so that the former deputy speaker was sick.

“The purpose of bail is to enable the accused to attend trial. There is no sufficient reason brought by the prosecution for court to deny bail. If granted bail, my clients would not jeopardise trial,” he explained.

But the prosecution counsel, Mr. Festus Keyamo, who had filed two counter affidavits on Wednesday, argued that Nafada did not place before the court, sufficient materials to back up his claim of ill-health.

“It is trite law that when relying on health grounds, admissible medical report must be brought before the court for consideration on sympathetic grounds,” he said.

Keyamo contended that the status of an individual had nothing to do with statutory requirement of the law with regard to bail consideration.

On the issue that Bankole had earlier been granted bail by another court, he submitted that the argument lacked substance.

“My lord, that some other court has granted bail to the first accused cannot fetter the hands of this court; especially in consideration of the fact that the proof of evidence of this case and charge are different from that of the other one,” Keyamo said.

After ruling on the bail application, Belgore adjourned the case till July 19 for commencement of trial.

The EFCC had in its 17-count charge against Bankole and Nafada alleged that they obtained and dishonestly disbursed the N37.7bn loans without the authorisation and consent of the Revenue Mobilisation, Allocation and Fiscal Commission when they were the two main principal officers of the House.

Justice Donatus Okorowo of the FHC, Abuja had on Monday granted Bankole bail in the sum of N5m with one surety in like sum.

The surety, who must be a “responsible citize”n of the country, must own a landed property in Abuja metropolis. Besides, he must tender the title deed of the property to the deputy chief registrar of the court for identification.

The court also ruled that both the surety and Bankole must surrender their travel documents to the court.

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