Former governor Abdufattah Ahmed was granted bail of ₦50 million by Justice Evelyn Anyadike of the Federal High Court in Ilorin, Kwara State. The bail requires sureties with landed properties in the state.
Ahmed, along with his former Commissioner of Finance, Ademola Banu, faced a 12-count charge in court. Banu was not present during the arraignment.
Ahmed pleaded not guilty to the charges during the court proceedings.
Justice Anyadike outlined the conditions for bail in a judgment on Friday. The bail amount must be paid in the form of bonds to the court. Failure to comply with the bail conditions will result in forfeiture of the bail amount to the Federal Government.
Outside the court, Rotimi Jacobs, SAN, the counsel for the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, stated that Ahmed’s defense counsel, Kehinde Eleja, SAN, orally requested the bail application for the defendant.
“The case was filed and accepted by the court, and the counts were read to the defendant, and he pleaded not guilty. Thereafter, a bail application was made by the counsel orally. Although we opposed that it should be in writing, His Lordship thought that she has the discretion to allow them to move orally. And after arguments, the court granted bail on certain conditions,” he said.
Barrister Kehinde, the former governor’s lawyer, responded by saying that the arraignment was a result of investigations that began around five years ago.
He mentioned that the former governor, as the first defendant, would need to surrender his international passport and seek court permission to travel abroad.
“The case was filed and accepted by the court, and the counts were read to the defendant, and he pleaded not guilty. Thereafter, a bail application was made by the counsel orally. Although we opposed that it should be in writing. His lordship believed that she had the discretion to allow them move the motion orally. And after arguments, the court granted bail on certain conditions,” he said.
The case was postponed to April 29th and 30th due to upcoming holidays when the court will not be in session.
