A Federal High Court in Abuja has granted bail to former Group Managing Director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, Andrew Yakubu, in the
A Federal High Court in Abuja has granted bail to former Group Managing Director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, Andrew Yakubu, in the sum of N300m.
Justice Ahmed Mohammed had on March 16, ordered that Yakubu be remanded in Kuje Prison, following his arraignment on the six counts preferred against him by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission. The charges bordered on fraud and false declaration of assets. The charges were all in relation to the sum of $9.7m and £74,000 stashed in a huge fireproof safe in a slum in Kaduna. The sums of foreign currencies amounted to about N3bn.
Ruling on the defendant’s bail application on Tuesday, Justice Mohammed noted that he had no reason to believe that the former NNPC’s GMD would jump bail.
The judge said he believed so, in view of Yakubu’s conduct of cutting short his medical trip abroad to honour EFCC’s invitation. The judge said if Yakubu had wanted to escape trial as alleged by the EFCC, the defendant would not have voluntarily returned to honour the commission’s invitation.
He also noted that the prosecution did not deny the claim. He then proceeded to grant bail to Yakubu for N300m with two sureties in like sum. The judge said the sureties must own properties which must worth the bail sum within the Federal Capital Territory. He, however, refused to grant the prayer for an order seeking the release of Yakubu’s passport which was said to be in EFCC’s custody. Justice Mohammed adjourned the case till May 9 for the commencement of trial.
The defendant was accused of failing to make full disclosure of the sum at the anti-graft agency’s office on or about August 18, 2015. The EFCC said the offence ran contrary to Section 27 (3) (a) of the EFCC Establishment Act 2004, and punishable under Section 27 (3) (c) of the same Act.
Punch
