The Federal High Court sitting in Kaduna on Tuesday granted bail to the Senior Advisor Counsellor to former Kaduna State Governor, Nasir El-Rufai, Mr Jimi Lawal, and three others arraigned for fraud and other sundry charges.
The defendants were, however, asked to provide two sureties, with some of N50 million in a like sum, with the sureties having landed property in Kaduna, with verified Certificates of Occupancy (CofO).
The defendants were also asked to deposit their international passports, national passports, green passports, and official passports, if any, before the Deputy Chief Registrar of the Federal High Court Kaduna.
Jimi Lawal and the three others were arraigned before the Federal High Court over alleged N64 million fraud by the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC).
The anti-graft agency said the accused persons, including Lawal Adebisi, a former Senior Special Adviser to El-Rufai; Umar Waziri, the former Accountant General of Kaduna State; and Yusuf Inuwa, a former aide of the former Governor, as well as Solar Life Nigeria Limited, the company whose bank account was believed to have received the diverted funds, were dragged before the court over a N64 million money laundering charge.
According to the ICPC, the suit filed at the Federal High Court, Kaduna Judicial Division, accused Lawal of conniving with the two other accused persons to have diverted the total sum of N64.800 million.
“The money was sent in three tranches of N10 million, N47.840 million, and N7.320 million to the bank account of Solar Life Nigeria Limited, where Mr Lawal is believed to be the sole signatory.”
Speaking to journalists shortly after the court sitting on Tuesday, Counsel to one of the defendants, Johnson Usman SAN, explained that, “Today, the case came up for arraignment, the four defendants have been arraigned and we moved a motion for their bail and the court granted the bail.
“The court, however, ordered that, pending the perfection of their bail condition, they should be remanded in prison custody and we hope the perfection would be done in a jiffy, possibly tomorrow.
“The defendants were asked to provide two sureties, with some of N50 million in a like sum. The sureties must have landed property in Kaduna and the CofO must be verified by the Registrar of the court.
“The court also demanded that the defendants must deposit their international passports, national passports, green passports, and official passports, if any, before the Deputy Chief Registrar of the Federal High Court Kaduna,” he said.
He, however, expressed optimism that the defendants would meet the bail condition as soon as possible, so that they can be released from the prison where they are being remanded.
The case was, however, adjourned to the 26th and 27th of March, 2025, for trial.
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