Ex Gov Lamido, Sons sets to celebrate sallah in Prison as court has remanded them in prison

Firstclass newsline learnt that former governor of Jigawa State,

Alhaji Sule Lamido and his two sons have been ordered to be remanded

to prison till September 28.

The three accused persons are standing trial at the Federal High Court

in Kano on a 28-count charge filed against them by the Economic and

Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) for corruption and money

laundering.

The presiding judge, Justice Evelyn Anyadime, adjourned the case to

September 28 for hearing on the substantive suit.

The accused were taken to the Kano prisons in a Toyota bus belonging

to the Nigeria Prisons Service (NPS) amidst tight security.

However, outside the court premises, hundreds of protesting youths

stormed the area, chanting solidarity song for Lamido.

The youths carried placards with different inscriptions in support of

the former governor. One of the placards read: "It's

politically-motivated. We stand with you. God will see you through."

The governor's arraignment also attracted top chieftains of the

Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) from Kano and Jigawa States.

While Lamido and his sons were no so lucky to be admitted to bail,

former Governor of Imo State, Ikedi Ohakim was thursday however,

granted bail by a Federal High Court sitting in Abuja in the sum of

N270 million and a surety in like sum.

Justice Adeniyi Ademola who granted him bail application, said that

the surety must be resident within jurisdiction of the court and must

owe a landed property in the Federal Capital Territory.

"Alternatively, he or she should swear to affidavit of means which

should be verified by the court official and approved by the court."

Justice Ademola also ordered Ohakim to deposit his travelling

international passport with the Chief Registrar of the court and in

the event that the passport was with the EFCC it should be handed over

to the Chief Registrar of the court.

Ohakim, who was arrested by operatives of the EFCC on Tuesday, July 7,

2015, is being prosecuted for allegedly making a cash payment to the

tune of $2, 290,000 (about N270,000,000), for the purchase of a

property at Plot No. 1098 Cadastral Zone A04, Asokoro District,

otherwise known as No.60, Kwame Nkurumah Street, Asokoro, Abuja.

The commission claimed that the amount was above the threshold

approved for an individual going by the provisions of Section 1 of the

Money Laundering (Prohibition) Act 2004.

He is also accused of deliberately neglecting to disclose all his

assets in the declaration submitted to the EFCC and the Code of

Conduct Bureau.

One of the counts read: "That you, Ikedi Ohakim, on or about January

26, 2013 in Abuja within the jurisdiction of the Federal High Court,

while under arrest for an offence under the EFCC Act, 2004 knowingly

failed to make a full disclosure of your assets by not declaring your

ownership of the property known and described as Plot No. 1098

Cadastral Zone A04, Asokoro District- it is also known as No.60, Kwame

Nkurumah Street, Asokoro, Abuja and thereby committed an offence

contrary to Section 27(3)(c) of the EFCC Act, 2004 and punishable

under the same section."

Ohakim had pleaded not guilty to the charge.

The same Justice Ademola has reserved ruling in an application filed

by former Bayelsa State governor, Chief Timipre Sylva, to quash new

charges brought against him by the EFCC.

The court reserved ruling in the case after the parties made their

submissions with EFCC asking the court to dismiss the application.

Sylva's counsel, Prince Lateef Fagbemi, SAN urged the court to set

aside the charges against his client on the ground that he could not

be re-arraigned on the charges that had been dismissed by the same

court.

He said: "He cannot be re-arraigned on the same fact, same event and

same investigation. We are challenging the jurisdiction of this court

to hear the charges against the accused person. We urge the court to

decline jurisdiction."

On his part, counsel to the EFCC, Mr. Rotimi Jacob, SAN in his

objection to the case, told the court that the new charge was

different from the one earlier dismissed by the court last month.

He said the charge had been expanded to 50 from the 42-count charge

that was dismissed by Justice Ahmed Mohammed of the same court.

He said: "The motion asking for the dismissal of the charge is

misconceived. What the court should look at in criminal matter is the

constitution and the Criminal Procedure Act (CPA)", Jacob argued.

Justice Ahmed Mohammed, had on June 10 dismissed one of the two

charges earlier brought against Sylva by the EFCC on the ground that

it amounted to an abuse of court process.

However, EFCC disagreed with the judgment on the grounds that it was

premature as the accused persons had not taken any plea before the

court.

Earlier on June 1, Justice Evoh Chukwu (also of the Federal High

Court, Abuja) struck out the other charge upon EFCC's application for

withdrawal.

In the fresh 50-count charge, Sylva is charged alongside Francis

Okokuro, Gbenga Balogun, and Samuel Ogbuku.

They are accused of using three companies – Marlin Maritime Limited,

Eat Catering Services Limited, and Haloween-Blue Construction and

Logistics Limited to move about N19.2 billion from Bayelsa State

coffers between 2009 and 2012, under false pretence of using the

withdrawn money to augment salaries of the state government workers.

Firstclassnewsline.net