Court grants former JAMB registrar, Ojerinde, N200m bail

A Federal High Court sitting in Abuja on Thursday granted bail to the embattled former Registrar of the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB), Prof Adedibu Ojerinde, who have been facing charges for an alleged N5.2 billion fraud.

Ojerinde was granted bail for the sum of N200 million with two sureties in like sum.

According to bail terms, one surety must be a professor in a Federal University and the other must be a property owner in Abuja. The court also stated that their residences must be verified.

Also, the court ordered that the former registrar must deposit his passport with the court registrar, while the case was adjourned to July 22 and 23 for trial.

Ripples Nigeria had reported that the sitting Judge, Justice Obiora Egwuatu, had cautioned the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC), over its inability to produce Ojerinde in court, 40 minutes after the case was called.

The court had stood down the matter the first time after it was called up and Ojerinde was not yet in court for the hearing of his bail.

The Prosecution lawyer, Ebenezer Shogunle, informed the court that Ojerinde was on his way to court but was delayed by traffic and applied to the court to stand down the matter until Ojerinde makes it to court.

However, Ojerinde was not in court even after the court had concluded with other matters listed for the day, .

READ ALSO: Court grants former JAMB registrar, Ojerinde, N200m bail

Justice Egwuatu, who was displeased with the development, admonished the parties that the court sits by 9 in the morning and warned them to ensure they are in the court on time.

Meanwhile, when Ojerinde was eventually brought to court, the court resumed its sitting, and Ojerinde’s lawyer, Olorunnishola moved his motion praying the court to grant his client bail.

The Prosecution counsel, Shogunle, opposed the bail application, arguing that while Ojerinde was in custody, he was granted an administrative bail, which he breached.

Shogunle pointed the court to paragraph 5 (e, f, g) of his counter-affidavit, asserting that other investigations were still ongoing and the witnesses in the investigations were subject to the influence of Ojerinde.

He also argued that the claim of ill-health which Ojerinde was relying on as a ground for the bail application was not supported by a medical report.

On his part, Ojerinde’s lawyer responded that they have filed their reply to the prosecution’s counter-affidavit and also added that the prosecution had concluded their investigation which was why they had charged Ojerinde to court.

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