Former UNILAG lecturer arraigned over N8m fraud

A former lecturer at the University of Lagos, Mr Femi Olufokunbi, on Thursday appeared before an Igbosere Magistrates` Court in Lagos, charged with eight million naira fraud.

Olufokunbi (62) was arraigned on a two-count charge of stealing and obtaining money from Union Bank Plc under false pretence.

The court remanded him in police custody till June 21 when it will rule in his bail application.

The former lecturer, also a lawyer, is standing trial along with one Onyeka Dike.

The duo, however, pleaded not guilty to the charge.

The prosecutor, Insp. Zaccheus Arekhander, said that the accused and some others at large obtained the money by false pretence on behalf of some lawyers on June 1.

He said that the accused did not give the money to the lawyers and did not return it to the bank.

He said that the accused had refused persuasions from the bank to sign necessary documents to officially acknowledge the receipt of the money paid through a cheque.

Arekhander objected to the bail applications moved by the counsel to accused, Mr Gani Oyarevuegbe.

The prosecutor said that the former lecturer could interference with ongoing police investigations in the case, if granted bail.

“The money in question is still in an unfrozen account belonging to the accused; granting them bail could avail them the opportunity to withdraw it thereby jeopardising police investigations,” he said.

The defence counsel had prayed the court to grant the accused bail on self recognition.

He submitted that the former don had spent 32 years as a lawyer.

Magistrate A.A. Adefulire said: “In view of the strong objection to the bail application, the accused are hereby remanded in police custody pending ruling on the application.’’ (NAN)

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Speaker bows to party in constituting House leadership

The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Aminu Waziri Tambuwal has concluded plans to select the remaining members of his leadership team along lines recommended by the ruling party, NEXT has learnt.

Sources say Mr Tambuwal and his deputy, Emeka Ihedioha, whose emergence as presiding officers ruined the zoning formula of the Peoples Democratic Party in the House, decided to make further amends by making sure the south-west and the north-east produced two of the principal officers of the House. They had earlier apologised for disobeying the zoning arrangement of the party.

In PDP's original plan for the House, the aforementioned zones were to produce the speaker and deputy speaker respectively. However, the sudden emergence of Mr Tambuwal and Mr Ehedioha from the north-west and south- east zones messed up that arrangement to the annoyance of the party.

Although the House, like the Senate, went on recess shortly after the election of Mr Tambuwal, the Speaker and his deputy together with a few members of his caucus have been busy with plans to allocate leadership positions before the resumption of sitting on June 28.

Sources close to the Speaker said he had been concerned with ensuring that agreements reached at a reconciliation meeting with the National Working Committee of the party on July 8th were implemented early enough to show good faith.

In that meeting, held at the party headquarters, Abuja, and brokered by Senate President David Mark, the party directed the new speaker to ensure that the two zones were duly compensated with leadership positions in order to balance the power sharing formula.

In plotting the selection of the remaining principal officers, therefore, sources say the Speaker and his team have made preparations to ensure that Mulikat Adeola-Akande, who was the party's candidate for Speaker, emerges the Chief Whip, while a member from the north east, Bawa Isiaka from Taraba State who had vied for the deputy speakership is to be made the new Leader of the House. Both selections, like others been made for the rest offices, are expected to be approved by the committee of the whole (House) after resumption of plenary at the end of this month.

It is not clear if the Speaker has since communicated its decision to the party or whether the choices met with the approval of the PDP hierarchy, which had insisted on being on the loop during any subsequent selection of the principal officers in the House.

Cat and mouse game

The party had earlier threatened Mr Tambuwal and his deputy with sanctions, but said all was forgiven at the last reconciliation meeting when both members made their plea. Recently, when asked if the party was still angry with him, Mr Tambuwal told reporters, "That was before, not now."

Analysts however say the party may yet pull the rug under the feet of the duo, considering the manner the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission stepped up investigations into the role of other members of the leadership of the previous assembly over contract inflation. Dimeji Bankole had, in one of his statements to the anti-graft agency, allegedly indicted Mr Tambuwal who was a member of that leadership.

Meanwhile many of the members, especially those returning, have been hanging around the Assembly to position themselves for early stake at the offices which are inadequate for the 360 members.

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N40bn loan scam: Bankole, Nafada secure N200m bail

Reprieve came the way of the embattled former Speaker of the House of Representatives, Dimeji Bankole and his erstwhile deputy, Usman Bayero Nafada, as they were Wednesday released on bail by an Abuja High Court sitting at Apo.

The court specifically ordered the duo to deposit N50 million each and one surety each in like sum, stressing that the said surety must be a civil servant not below the level of a Permanent Secretary who must be resident within the Federal Capital Territory.

Justice Suleiman Belgore who released them on bail after he had dismissed a counter-affidavit that was filed by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, in opposition to their consolidated bail applications, ordered the anti-graft agency to retain the diplomatic and official passports of the former Speaker and his deputy, saying they should remain in custody pending when all the conditions are perfected.

Meanwhile, the accused persons are protesting the bail terms that were handed to them by the trial High Court yesterday, saying it was too stringent.

Immediately the trial judge finished delivering his ruling yesterday, the accused persons through their counsel, Chief Michael Fashanu, SAN, pleaded for a variation of the bail condition, insisting that it may be herculean for them to get a Permanent Secretary that would be willing to stick-out his or her neck to stand surety in the matter.

Counsel to the accused persons contended that asking them to produce such caliber of civil servants would amount to technically denying his clients bail, even as he pleaded with the court to rather request for a public officer of a particular range instead of tying it to the position of a Permanent Secretary.

Following the refusal of the trial Judge to accede to the oral plea for variation, the accused persons who were subsequently whisked back to their detention cell by operatives of the anti-graft commission, said they would re-approach the court with a formal application to that effect.

The ruling was delivered on a day both the EFCC and the accused persons adduced reasons why the discretion of the High Court should sway to their favour.

Whereas the anti-graft agency urged the court to consider the weight of the charge against the former speaker and his deputy and refuse them bail, the accused persons on the other hand, pleaded the trial judge to grant them bail in self recognition, insisting that they would be available to face trial.

Nafada specifically implored the court to consider his failing heath condition and allow him to go home, maintaining that he was on Saturday June 11, involved in a fatal road accident which he said claimed seven lives.

The former speaker told the court that his present health situation warrants consistent medical attention, just as the 1st accused person, Bankole, urged the court to take cognizance of the fact that the Abuja division of the Federal High Court earlier granted him bail over a sister case that was instituted against him by the anti-graft agency.

Their submissions were vehemently opposed by EFCC lawyer, Keyamo, who insisted that the onus was on the applicants to provide material evidence that the trial court could rely upon and grant them bail.

“My lord, it is not enough for the 2nd accused person to rely on health condition to move this court to grant him bail, he has failed to produce an admissible medical report or anything that could move your lordship to show sympathetic consideration to his application.

“We also urge your lordship to discountenance his submission as it relate to the purported accident he was involved in, there is neither a police report nor anything to corroborate the story.

“Most of the depositions in their affidavit for bail did not meet legal requirements capable of moving the court to exercise its discretion to their favour.

“Averments of the 1st accused that he has two children, aged parents, about his being a former speaker, holding honours of CFR, are not legal requirements for bail. I therefore urge your lordship to refuse this bail application in its entirety”, he argued.

After listening to their arguments, Justice Belgore, yesterday, stood-down the matter till 3pm when he eventually ruled on their consolidated bail applications.

The judge relied on the provisions of section 1(1), 6 (6b), 34(4), 36(4) (5) of the 1999 constitution and section 341(2) of the Criminal Procedure Code, CPC, to release the accused person on bail pending the hearing and determination of the substantive case against them.

Though the judge waved-aside the claims of the former deputy speaker that he was suffering deteriorating health condition, he maintained that denying them bail would amount to an infringement on their constitutional rights.

The judge said he was not persuaded by the submissions of the prosecuting counsel that the accused would interfere with ongoing investigations into other allegations of corruption against them, adding that he was not convinced that they would attempt to evade trial if released on bail.

EFCC earlier told the High Court that most of the witnesses it intend to call against the duo are serving members of the National Assembly, saying there was an imminent danger that they could be influenced by the accused persons.

According to the judge, “I have carefully and meticulously read the motion papers all over and I have equally given deep consideration to the reliefs sought therein, it is my view that this application is not complex.

“The issue is whether or not the accused persons are entitled to bail and this is where section 341(2) of the CPC must come to play.

“the case of Abiola Vs FRN which was reported in 1999, 4-NWLR, stressed that an accused must place material evidence that the court will consider before exercising its discretion in granting or refusing an application for bail.

“The prosecution has argued that the 1st accused severally evaded arrest but can we say from all seriousness that he indeed evaded arrest?, the answer is found in the counter-affidavit which enumerated how many attempts that were made before he was eventually arrested on June 5.

“Failure to honour an invitation cannot be seen as evading arrest as nothing suggests that at one point in time, he was seen and he ran away.

“It is the view of this court that the EFCC was not able to locate him initially and when he was eventually located, he was accordingly arrested and taken into custody. There is nothing to show that he engaged operatives of the agency in a fight neither is there an exhibit showing that he was at any time a wanted person.

“It is not disputed that the said invitation letters were sent to the clerk of the National Assembly and not to the accused person. I cannot see the temptation for the accused persons to abscond trial in considering their antecedents.

“There is no serious risk that they will jump bail and contention of the prosecution that they will interfere with ongoing investigation is unattainable as the accused persons in their affidavit maintained that investigations into the matter were already concluded.

“This deposition was not controverted by the prosecution, it is trite law that fact not challenged are deemed to be true. I am therefore inclined to hold that investigation have been completed and whether the accused persons will interfere with further investigations is of no moment before this court.

“More so, this is the first time that the accused persons have found themselves in this mess and there is no likelihood that they may commit same is released.

“The right to bail of an accused is constitutional, I found merit in this application and accordingly grant same” the judge ruled.

Hearing on the substantive case against them was yesterday adjourned till July 19.

The accused persons, who were arraigned by the anti-graft agency on Monday, are facing trial over their alleged complicity in a N40 billion loan scam.

They had pleaded not guilty to the entire 17-count criminal charge that was preferred against them by the EFCC.

EFCC specifically alleged that they breached public trust by agreeing to approve the allowances and ‘running costs’ of members of the 6th session of House of Representatives in violation of the approved remuneration package for political, public and judicial office holders by the Revenue Mobilization Allocation and Fiscal Commission, as well as, the extant Revised Financial Regulations of the Federal Government of Nigeria, 2009, and thereby committed an offence contrary to section 97(1) of the Penal Code Act, Cap 532, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria (Abuja) 1990 and punishable under section 315 of the same Penal Code Act.

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Who are Nigeria's Boko Haram Islamists?

Nigeria's militant Islamist group Boko Haram, which said it bombed the police headquarters in the capital Abuja on Thursday, is fighting to overthrow the government and create an Islamic state.

Its followers are said to be influenced by the Koranic phrase which says: "Anyone who is not governed by what Allah has revealed is among the transgressors".

Boko Haram promotes a version of Islam which makes it "haram", or forbidden, for Muslims to take part in any political or social activity associated with western society.

This includes voting in elections, wearing shirts and trousers or receiving a secular education.

Boko Haram regards the Nigerian state as being run by non-believers, even when the country had a Muslim president.

But residents in the north-eastern city of Maiduguri, where the group had its headquarters, dubbed it Boko Haram.

The group's official name is Jama'atu Ahlis Sunna Lidda'awati wal-Jihad, which in Arabic means "People Committed to the Propagation of the Prophet's Teachings and Jihad."

Loosely translated from the local Hausa language, this means Western education is forbidden.

Boko originally means fake but came to signify Western education, while haram means forbidden.

Since the Sokoto caliphate, which ruled parts of what is now northern Nigeria, Niger and southern Cameroon, fell under British control in 1903, there has been resistance among the area's Muslims to Western education.

Many Muslim families still refuse to send their children to government-run "Western schools", a problem compounded by the ruling elite which does not see education as a priority.

Audacious

Against this background, the charismatic Muslim cleric, Mohammed Yusuf, formed Boko Haram in Maiduguri in 2002. He sat up a religious complex, which included a mosque and an Islamic school.

Boko Haram despises Western education and wants Islamic law imposed

Many poor Muslim families from across Nigeria, as well as neighbouring countries, enrolled their children at the school.

But Boko Haram was not only interested in education. Its political goal was to create an Islamic state, and the school became a recruiting ground for jihadis to fight the state.

In 2009, Boko Haram carried out a spate of attacks on police stations and other government buildings in Maiduguri.

Continue reading the main

It led to shoot-outs on Maiduguri's streets. Hundreds of Boko Haram supporters were killed and thousands of residents fled the city.

Nigeria's security forces eventually seized the group's headquarters, capturing its fighters and killing Mr Yusuf.

His body was shown on state television, and the security forces declared Boko Haram finished.

But its fighters have regrouped under a new, unidentified leader and last year it attacked a prison in Maiduguri, freeing hundreds of the group's supporters.

Its trademark has been the use of gunmen on motorbikes, killing police, politicians and anyone who criticises it, including clerics from other Muslim traditions and a Christian preacher.

In recent months, it has staged several more audacious attacks in different parts of northern Nigeria.

These reportedly include a bombing in December in the city of Jos, a New Year's eve attack on military barracks in Abuja, and several explosions around the time of President Goodluck Jonathan's inauguration last month.

Now, it has attacked the police headquarters, signalling that it is far from finished.

The threat it poses is unlikely to disappear: Poverty-stricken northern Nigeria has a history of spawning groups similar to Boko Haram.

Analysts believe the threat will disappear only if the Nigerian government manages to reduce the region's chronic poverty, and builds an education system which gains the support of local Muslims.

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Nigeria's Islamists claim suicide bombing

A radical Islamist sect has claimed responsibility for Nigeria's first suicide bombing, saying the attack that killed two at Abuja's police headquarters targetted the country's police chief.

"We are responsible for the bomb attack on the police headquarters in Abuja, which was to prove a point to all those who doubt our capability," the group known as Boko Haram said late Thursday after the attack.

The powerful explosion ripped through the car park inside the police headquarters compound, killing a police officer and the bomber, wounding several others and destroying dozens of cars, according to police.

Local media said the death toll could be higher.

Security experts said it was the first suicide bombing in Nigeria, a country of 150 million people facing a growing threat from Islamic militants.

Boko Haram said it regretted missing its target, which it named as police inspector-general Hafiz Ringim.

In the statement signed by spokesman Abu Zaid, the group said the police chief had recently been making "unguarded utterances to the effect that he will crush us in a matter of days."

Witnesses said the motorcade of a senior police officer had driven into the headquarters just minutes before the attack.

Police said the bomber drove into the car park and set off the bomb as he was about to be submitted to a routine search. Local media say the bomber was trailing the police chief as he drove into the compound.

Shortly after the attack, police blamed Islamists who a day earlier had threatened to step up a campaign of violence that has already seen scores of deadly attacks.

Boko Haram, sometimes called the Nigerian Taliban, had warned Wednesday of "fiercer" attacks saying it was angered by a police declaration that its days were "numbered."

The sect, believed to be based in the northeastern city of Maiduguri, this week admitted links with a foreign Islamist group connected to Al-Qaeda, saying some of its members had just returned from training in Somalia. Security experts earlier speculated that it had established ties with Islamists in north Africa.

"We will continue to launch similar attacks on the police headquarters. We will not relent," said the group, which has warned it will wage a "jihad" or holy war.

The explosion, the latest in a series of blasts in recent months, adds to insecurity in Nigeria just weeks after President Goodluck Jonathan's election late April for his first full term.

Police spokesman Yemi Ajayi on Friday said an investigation into the attack was under way.

"We will leave no stone unturned," Ajayi told AFP. "We already suspected Boko Haram over the attack. So we are not surprised that they claimed responsibility for it."

Several people were wounded in the explosion, according to Red Cross official Umar Abdul Mairiga, who said volunteers had picked up body parts, but could not say how many were killed.

Boko Haram, which means "Western education is sin," launched an uprising in 2009 which was put down by a brutal military assault that left hundreds dead, mostly sect members.

It has pushed for the creation of an Islamic state and been blamed for shootings of police and community leaders, bomb blasts and raids on churches, police stations and a prison.

Boko Haram claimed responsibility for a spate of bombings near Abuja and in the north, claiming 18 lives, after Jonathan's inauguration about two weeks ago.

But it was the first suicide bombing in Nigeria, although a would-be suicide bomber from Nigeria attempted to bring down an American airliner on Christmas Day in 2009.

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Forex Trading Signals June 17th 2011 (Pre- EU Market Open)

EUR/USD intraday: the downside prevails. Pivot: 1.4215.

Most Likely Scenario: SHORT positions @ 1.4205 with 1.4065 & 1.4025 in sight.

Alternative scenario: The upside penetration of 1.4215 will call for a rebound towards 1.4265 & 1.4325.

Comment: The pair has struck against its resistance and should face further weakness as the RSI remains capped by a MT declining trend line. Trend: ST Ltd Upside; MT Range

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I’ll ensure Tokyo, Auxiliary are arrested – Oyo CP

THE Oyo State Commissioner of Police, Mr Baba Adisa Bolanta, has said the pictures of the two factional leaders of the state branch of the National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW), Alhaji Lateef Akinsola Oluwatoki, a.k.a Tokyo and Alhaji Mukaila Lamidi, a.k.a. Auxiliary, will be circulated through-out the state, in order to aid their arrest, just as he reiterated that the police will not give up on their efforts to arrest them.

The police boss also called on the general public to assist the state command with information that could lead to the arrest of the duo.

Mr Bolanta, who said this during a press briefing, held at the command headquarters, Eleyele, Ibadan, on Thursday, added that the police would not give up efforts to arrest the duo and others involved in the violence that was unleashed on the state at Iwo Road area, about two weeks ago.

It will be recalled that a violent clash between the supporters of the two factioner leaders of the union, about two weeks ago, led to a wanton destruction of property and death of many innocent people.

“I will arrest them (Tokyo and Auxiliary) even if I am posted out of this place (Oyo State) thereafter. I will arrest them. Nobody can stop me from doing that,” the commissioner said, adding that 18 suspects connected with the violence had been arraigned in court, while about 20 other suspects were still with the State Criminal Investigation Department (SCID), set for arraignment.

Mr Bolanta added that all other security agencies in the state were collaborating with the police, in order to bring a lasting peace to the state.

On the call for his redeployment by the National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS), the commissioner advised the students to face their studies and not be allowed to be used, adding that the authentic president of the body sent him a text message, on Wednesday, dissociating himself from the press statement.

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UN doubts FG’s target of 190,000 megawatts in 2020

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The United Nations, (UN) on Thursday, expressed doubt on the ability of the Federal Government to attain its targeted 190,000 megawatts of electricity by 2020 without focusing on Renewable Energy options.

The UN Resident Representative, Mr Daouda Toure, expressed this misgiving at the formal launch and signing ceremony of “Access to Renewable Energy (ARE) Project” jointly implemented in Nigeria by the United Nations and Bank of Industry (BOI).

The project execution has a time frame of 2010-2014 with a total budget of $4.8 million to be funded through the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) allocation of $2 million while the remaining portion will be sourced from strategic partners such as the World Bank and the BOI.

Mr Toure stressed that reliable and accessible energy supply was central to issues of development, national security, environmental protection and serve as a tool in achieving both Vision 20-2020 and the Millennium Development Goals (MDG).

The UN Resident Representative wondered why Nigeria with its vast energy resource potential, still depended on backup generators with high environmental and economic cost .

“Eliminating energy deprivation is thus, of paramount importance in eradicating economic poverty and is essential to the achievement of other Millennium Development Goals. If alternative and other reliable sources of energy supply could be encouraged in this country, huge savings could be realised in addition to a cleaner environment” he said.

While pledging the UN support and commitment towards ensuring access to modern energy services, he said that the UNDP would continue to explore possible ways of collaborating with relevant institutions to promote supplies of energy through alternative and renewable sources which would be pro-poor.

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We saw your new position coming, Wabara tells Ajimobi

Oyo State governor, Senator Ajimobi, has been described as a distinguished politician whose cerebral contributions at the Red Chamber when he was a senator between 2003 and 2007 showed a bigger political office was on his way.

A former Senate president, Adolphus Wabara, said this during a visit to the governor in his office on Thursday.

He said Senator Ajimobi was an active member and a performer during his sojourn in the National Assembly, adding that his contributions in the various standing committees of the Senate would remain legendary in the history of the upper chamber.

He however called on the governor to bring his abundant experience to use in the discharge of his new responsibility as a governor.

In a response, the governor expressed appreciation to the visitor while assuring him of his determination to launch the state on the path of greatness.

He described Senator Wabara as a dependable ally while at the Senate.

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Attack on Force HQ and reality of porous police

THE ease with which the perpetrators of the Thursday’s bomb attack on the nation’s Force Headquarters, Abuja, exe-cuted their onslaught is a confirmation of the porous outlook of the Nigeria Police.

Since October 1, 2010 when there was an explo-sion close to the Eagle Square, venue of the 50th anniversary of the nation, which claimed over a dozen lives, bombing, hitherto a rarity in the country, has become commonplace.

There were the New Year’s eve attacks in Abuja and Jos, as well as the May 29 explosion at Zuba, a suburb of the Federal Capital City. Also, almost on a daily basis, there have been attacks by Boko Haram in Borno State, without the police being able to check the menace, despite promising on each occasion to leave no stone unturned in appre-hending the perpetrators. What all these boil down to is that the security system in the country leaves much to be desired.

Going by the police account of Thursday’s attack, the bomber was able to access the police headquarters on the chase of the Inspector General’s convoy, before being detected by a policeman, who asked him to move his car somewhere else.

However, despite being detected and accosted, the police, with all the bomb disposal unit and all the arsenals at their beck and call, could neither detect the bomb nor stop it from detonating. This shows that the police headquarters was as unsafe as any part of the country.

So, if the Nigeria Police could not protect them-selves, will the nation not be expecting too much from them to protect the whole nation? If the Inspector General of Police (IGP) could claim he was unsafe, even at the police head-quarters, is anyone safe anywhere in the country?

Boko Haram has claimed responsibility for the attack. This undoub-tedly is its reaction to the statement by the IG, Hafiz Ringim, three days ago, that the days of the group were numbered. But with the attack, it seems Boko Haram has taken the battle to the doorstep of the police.

According to Boko Haram’s spokesman, Usman Alzawahiri, “we are behind it (the bomb blast) and we are going to attack the entire North and other parts of the country, including the capital, Abuja.”

He aded that some Boko Haram personnel had just returned from Somalia and had been scattered around the northern part of the country for the purpose of attacking different parts of the North.

What this means is that the group has extended its battle beyond the boun-daries of Borno State, where it had been operating for sometime, to the whole of the North.

The question does arise, if the police could not tackle Boko Haram when it was operating in just one state, will the police be able to stop the group now that it claimed it had spread to 19 states and Abuja?

From all indications, policing the country is too much a task for the Nigeria Police as currently consti-tuted. If there will be safety and a sense of security in this country, the police have to be helped. The police have to be better equipped to meet up with the requirement of policing a humongous society like Nigeria.

Then the police too have to be more proactive in their operations. At the moment, what the police do is to wait for a calamity to occur before scurrying to find a solution. The police have to do more of information gathering with the purpose of stopping bomb attacks before they take place.

To many Nigerians, the response of the police to bomb attacks on Nigerians has been anything but encouraging, probably because the leadership of the police had been shielded from such attacks. But now that the attackers have taken the fight to the doorstep of the police, officers and men of the Nigeria Police will have to be more alive to their responsibility of protecting the people before the whole country becomes a deadly mine for everyone.

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N40bn scam: Bankole, Nafada granted bail

FORMER speaker of the House of Representatives, Dimeji Bankole and his deputy, Usman Nafada, who are standing trial over an alleged N40 billion scam, were, on Thursday, admitted to bail by an

Abuja High Court in the sum of N50 million each, with two sureties each in like sum.

The trial judge, Justice Suleiman Belgore, added that such surety must be a civil servant, who must not be below the rank of a permanent secretary and works in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).

He ordered that the travelling documents of the accused be kept with the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and fixed July 19 for trial.

Counsel for the accused, Sola Oyetibo, who held the brief for Adegboyega Awomolo, prayed the court to vary the bail condition, by substituting the rank of permanent secretary with a senior civil servant, so that it would be easier for them to meet.

But the trial judge insisted that his ruling had been delivered and could not be changed.

In arriving at the ruling, which lasted for about 45 minutes, Justice Belgore said, “I have carefully and meticulously read the motion paper and consider argument of the counsel. The application is not complex, it is simple. The issue is whether the two applicants are entitled to bail.

“The ill health of an accused is not a ground to grant bail, illness does not entitle an accused to bail. A mere allegation of ill health is not a sufficient ground to grant bail, the accused most provide the medical proof to convince the court.”

But the prosecuting counsel, Festus Keyamo, opposed the application on the ground that the affidavit brought by the defence did not place sufficient material before the court as to warrant the granting of bail.

At the time of filing this report, the accused had been taken back to the EFCC custody, while their legal team was still making arrangement on how to meet the bail condition.

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