ALLEGED FRAUD: EFCC re-arraigns ex:Gov Lamido, sons

Former Governor of Jigawa State, Sule Lamido, his two sons and five others were on Friday re-arraigned by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission before a Federal High Court sitting in Abuja.

They were re-arraigned before Justice B.O. Quadri on an amended 43-count bordering on money laundering and illegal diversion of public funds levelled against them by the anti-graft agency.

Lamido, his sons, Aminu and Mustapha, alongside Aminu Abubakar, Batholomew Agoha and three companies all pleaded not guilty to the charges.

Lamido was admitted to bail in the sum of N100 million and two sureties in like sum while his sons and the other defendants got N50 million bail each and two sureties each in like sum.

According to the presiding judge, sureties for Lamido must be persons who have landed property not encumbered and depose to an affidavit and must be willing to forfeit the property to the Federal Government in the case the former governor breaches his bail condition.

For the other defendants, the judge ruled that the sureties must be civil servants in any ministry from grade level 15 and above, who must present their tax clearance certificate for the last three years.

They must also have more years in service and produce a letter from the heads of their various ministries that they have no criminal record and have never been indicted before.

The judge further said that the EFCC, which is the prosecuting agency, must verify the addresses of the sureties.

Earlier, lawyer to Lamido, Mr. Offiong Offiong (SAN), had urged the court to allow the defendants to continue on the former bail conditions granted them by Justices Gabriel Kolawale and Adeniyi Ademola.

He was countered by the prosecuting counsel, Mr Chile Okoromma, who argued that the charge against the defendants was new. He added that what happened before the previous judges were “dead and in the past”.

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The EFCC had earlier arraigned the former governor, sons and others before Justice Evelyn Anyadike of the Federal High Court, Kano State, on July 9, 2015, for allegedly misappropriating funds belonging to Jigawa State.

The case was afterwards transferred to the Federal High Court, Abuja, where Justice Gabriel Kolawole, a vacation judge, granted them bail and adjourned the matter to September 22, 2015.

The matter was later assigned to Justice Adeniyi Ademola. However, due to his arrest and prosecution by the Department of State Services, the matter was transferred to Justice Quadri.

Offiong had also asked the court to transfer the matter back to Ademola since he has been acquitted. He argued that 18 witnesses had already testified.

But Okoroma contended his position on the argument that the lead counsel for Lamido, Mr Joe Agi (SAN), was tried alongside Ademola for corruption-related offences.

 

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