On Monday, former House of Representatives Speaker, Dimeji Bankole, was swiftly re-arrested by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) after an Abuja High Court granted him bail.
He was re-arraigned along with his former Deputy, Usman Nafada, on fresh 17 counts of criminal breach of trust, misappropriation, and theft.
Bankole and Nafada allegedly obtained and dishonestly disbursed N37.7 billion without the authorisation of the Revenue Mobilisation, Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC).
They both pleaded not guilty, and their counsel, Adegboyega Awomolo, made an oral application for bail, which was turned down by Justice Sulaiman Belgore.
“The hearing of (written) bail application depends on how quick you file it,” the Judge said.
Awomolo asked for the accused persons to be remanded in EFCC custody but prosecution counsel, Festus Keyamo, opted for prison custody, saying the EFCC has no space for them.
However, Belgore ruled that they be remanded in EFCC custody, and adjourned the case until June 16 for ruling on the bail application.
The charge sheet alleged that, while in office, Bankole and Nafada:
• Incurred an illegal expenditure of over N40 billion.
• In August last year, they obtained a loan of N5.48 billion for recurrent expenditure without due process.
• In October and November last year, they obtained two loans, N6 billion and N4 billion, to augment the allowances and running costs of House members.
• In January and May this year, they used the overhead account of the House to obtain loans of N10.38 billion and N12 billion to augment allowances and running costs.
• They committed a felony, to wit: criminal breach of trust by agreeing to approve the allowances and/or running costs of House members in violation of the approved Remuneration Package for Political, Public and Judicial Office Holders by the RMAFC and the Revised Financial Regulations of the Federal Government of Nigeria, 2009.
• Bankole and Nafada sometime around January 2011, being entrusted with the House’s account number 00390070000018 with the United Bank of Africa (UBA), dishonestly used the account to obtain a loan of N10,380,000,000 from the bank to augment the allowances and running costs of House members in violation of the law.
However, Federal High Court Chief Judge, Ibrahim Auta, has blamed the EFCC for the delay in the trial of corruption cases.
He said the Commission files incessant amendments to charges, which delay cases, and amount to “dancing on one spot.”
Auta bared his thoughts when he visited EFCC Chairman Farida Waziri, in her office in Abuja.
He acknowledged that the judiciary system is slow, but said “one thing that also delays cases is this issue of amendment. Any time you amend a charge, the court will have to start all over again.”
He noted that interlocutory matters like bail applications, applications for release of travel documents, and jurisdiction, among other issues, are often used by defence counsel to delay cases and to start the process afresh – as “any motion, no matter how ridiculous, must be heard in court.”
Auta charged EFCC officials to conclude investigations before presenting suspects in court for trial.
“I will suggest that before arrest is made, everything is concluded. The moment the person is charged to court, or his liberties are breached, the facts to try him should be already there.
“You have to work on that so you do not file charges and later come and amend again. It gives the wrong impression anyway.”
He also sought an amendment of the Criminal Procedure Act so that suspects can be tried anywhere other than the location of the alleged crime.
He lamented a situation where a former Governor is tried in a state where he held sway and has made friends in the right places, saying even witnesses fail to turn up in court at such trials.
Auta stressed the need for collaboration between the judiciary and EFCC.
“If the EFCC is working left and we are working right, we are not going to hit the point, and the point is that justice must be done and corruption reduced drastically,” he added.
Waziri disclosed that the EFCC has over 65 high profile cases in courts across the country and many of them have been pending for over four years.
“They have not gone beyond the plea stage,” she noted.
“When the public tries to analyse the slow pace of the trial of high profile cases in comparison to the quick determination of small offenders, they tend to blame the EFCC.”
Waziri maintained that a high record of conviction would give a warning sign to others and help formulate policies for government.
Auta was accompanied on the visit by Justices Abdul Kafarati, Gladys Olotu, and Gabriel Kolawole.
Also on Monday, the National Renaissance Movement (NRM) asked the EFCC to extend its probe to other principal officers of the House who served with Bankole and Nafada.
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