N4.9bn fraud: Fani-Kayode, Usman get N250m bail
AFederal High Court in Lagos yesterday granted bail in the sum of N250 million each to Former ministers, Femi Fani Kayode and Nenadi Usman.
The former Aviation and Finance ministers respectively were last week Tuesday remanded in prison by Justice Sule Hassan after their arraignment on a 17-count charge bordering on unlawful retention, use and payment of money to the tune of N4.9 billion.
While Fani-Kayode who was the spokesman of the Goodluck Jonathan Presidential campaign in 2015 was docked on all the 17 counts, Usman who was the Director of Finance of the campaign was arraigned on the first four counts of the charge.
Also docked alongside the former ministers are one Danjuma Yusuf and a company, Joint Trust Dimensions Nigeria Limited.
During their court appearance last Friday, the defendants’ counsels had argued their bail applications which were opposed by the EFCC prosecution.
In the bail applications argued by Ferdinand Odi (SAN) for Usman, Ifedayo Adedipe for Fani-Kayode, they had prayed the court to grant their clients bail on self-recognition or on liberal term. Odi (SAN) submitted that his client was abroad when she learnt that EFCC wanted to see her and she returned on her own.
He said Usman was receiving treatment abroad and needed the bail to go back.
Adedipe had in his own argument submitted that his client, Fani-Kayode was in the custody of the prosecution for 50 days, and prayed the court to grant him bail without letting the EFCC be the verifiable body.
But EFCC’s prosecutor, Mark Anana, opposed the bail applications, arguing that the accused persons would influence the course of justice.
While ruling on the bail applications, the presiding judge, Justice Hassan, held that there was no evidence that the accused persons would interfere with the trial if granted bail, and admitted the first, second, and third accused to bail in the sum of N250 million with two sureties each in like sum.
He fixed the matter for October 19, 20, and 21 for trial.