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Nigeria: Borishade, Fani-Kayode Arraigned, Denied Bail
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This Day (Lagos)
3 July 2008
Posted to the web 3 July 2008
Funso Muraina and Ahamefula Ogbu
Abuja
There is no respite yet for the two former Aviation Ministers, Prof. Babalola Borisade and Chief Femi Fani-Kayode, arrested in connection with N19.5 billion Aviation Intervention Fund.
A Magistrate's Court in Life Camp, Abuja yesterday denied the two ex-ministers bail, ordering that they be remanded in the custody of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) till tomorrow.
EFCC arraigned the two ex-ministers in court yesterday as opposed to today (contrary to the original plan which THISDAY had reported) in order not to run foul of the law that requires that suspects must not be detained for more than 48 hours before they are arraigned in court.
Also ordered to be remanded in EFCC custody is the former Managing Director of the Nigeria Airspace Management Agency (NAMA), Captain Rowland Iyayi.
The court ordered that the three of them would remain in EFCC custody until tomorrow when formal application for bail would have been filed before the court.
In what looked like the old practice of holding charge whereby the prosecution would rush to court while still perfecting its investigation on a matter, EFCC might have rushed to the Magistrate's Court to arraign the accused knowing that the jurisdiction to try the accused does not lie in the court.
Only a few were surprised when Chief Magistrate kadir Lamido, after listening to arguments for and against the granting of bail, asked the accused to be sent back to EFCC custody until tomorrow.
Borishade, Fani-Kayode and Iyayi were brought to court around 11.22 am amidst tight security and as soon as they entered the dock, the First Information Report containing the summary of their offence was read to them.
They all pleaded not guilty.
The charge read as follows: "That you Hon. Femi Fani-Kayode, Hon. Babalola Borishade and Rowland Iyayi on or about 13th June 2006 within the jurisdiction of the honourable court did conspire among yourselves criminal conspiracy, breach of official trust, breach of trust, forgery and misappropriation of Federal Government Funds to the tune of N19.5 billion meant for the intervention industry especially for four international airports: Lagos, Abuja, Port Harcourt and Kano, thereby committed an offence contrary to Sections 97, 99, 314, 364 and 209 of Penal Code."
EFCC's lawyer Steve Odiase told the court that investigations about the accused were still in progress both at home and abroad and that in the event of granting them bail, "there is the possibility of not only jumping the bail but also prejudicing investigations as they have the financial muscle and pedigree to interfere with witnesses."
Odiase said the information before the court was sufficient to grant the application because the offence was in the nature of a high profile case which, if found guilty at the end of trial, could earn each of them 14 years prison term.
He said forgery and breach of trust were no simple offences and that it was premature for the defence to harp on prima facie case against the accused persons who, according to him, have a duty to furnish the court with documents to rely upon for the discretion of the court to be exercised in their favour.
But defence lawyers, Kingsley Osuh and Bankole Akomolafe, stated that by the provision of Section 36 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, the accused were still innocent notwithstanding their arrest, detention and arraignment by EFCC.
They said no charge had been filed against them and that the submission that if granted bail the accused persons would jump bail was speculative and a personal opinion of the counsel for the anti-graft body.
Akomolafe added that the requirement of the law was that the prosecution must supply cogent and verifiable reasons for the court to deny bail to the accused.
According to him, there is no way the accused could interfere with investigation since they are no longer public officials whereby they could have unfettered access to documents.
They urged the court to grant them bail on liberal terms as they were ready to provide responsible sureties, adding that the accused were like a gold fish which has no hiding place.
Immediately after Chief Magistrate Kadir delivered the ruling wherein he denied them bail, EFCC officials accosted the trio and took them away around 3.45pm.
Borisade, Kayode and Iyayi were arrested on Monday after they had made their submissions to the Senate committee probing the fund.
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Before then, the Managing Director of the company who got the N6.5 billion Safe Tower Contract, Avsatel Ges MB of Austria, Mr. George Eider, had also been arrested and arraigned.
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