A Special Adviser to President Goodluck Jonathan on Inter-governmental Affairs, Mrs. Mariam Ali, yesterday, obtained the court permission to stand as surety for one of the oil marketers standing trial before an Ikeja High Court, Christian Taylor.
The presidential aide is also the wife of the former National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, and one-time chairman of the Petroleum Products Pricing Regulatory Agency, PPPRA, Dr. Ahmadu Ali.
Taylor’s nationality is in dispute, having claimed to be a Sierra Leonean, while the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, which described her as “an unstable character”, said he had earlier claimed to come from Edo State. Taylor and the son of Mrs. Ali, Mamman Nasir Ali, had been arraigned by the Federal Government through the EFCC last Thursday and had pleaded not guilty to the charge.
The three-count charge against them comprised the offences of conspiracy and obtaining N4.4bn from the Federal Government under false pretence.
The two defendants are some of the individuals and corporate organisations accused of collecting N13.4bn from the Federal Government to import petrol, which they allegedly failed to deliver.
The presiding judge, Justice Adeniyi Onigbanjo, had earlier granted Taylor and Mamman Ali bail in the sum of N20m and two sureties in like sum, one of who must be his blood relation with landed property within the jurisdiction of the court.
But at the proceedings yesterday, Taylor, who claimed to be a Sierra Leonean, applied for a variation in the bail conditions handed down by the court. His lawyer, Mr. Kolade Obafemi, prayed the court to accept “a reputable and responsible Nigerian in place of a blood relation” which the judge had earlier requested for.
Obafemi added that Dr. Mariam Ali, the mother of the second defendant, Mamman Ali, is ready to stand surety for him and use her landed property in Surulere, Lagos, as part of the bail conditions.
The prosecution lawyer, Mr. Rotimi Jacobs, queried the propriety of the substitution. He notified the court that Mrs. Ali had not made any deposition before the court.
At this, Obafemi replied: “Mrs. Ali is a reputable public servant and Special Adviser to the President on Inter-governmental Relations.”
The prosecution opposed the application for the variation of the bail conditions on the grounds that Taylor was trying to misrepresent fact, having allegedly earlier claimed in his extra-judicial statement that he was a native of Edo State from Okpe Local Government only to contradict himself by claiming before the court that he is a Sierra Leonean.
Jacobs added that a character who is so unstable in his utterances might jump bail and, therefore, urged the court not to vary the bail conditions.
Taylor was, however, lucky as Justice Onigbanjo ruled that refusing the application for the variation might defeat the purpose of bail granted to a defendant.
The judge, therefore, varied the bail condition and substituted with “a reputable and responsible Nigerian with landed property.” in the place of “a blood relation with a landed property” as part of the bail terms.
This development paved the way for Mrs. Ali to now stand as surety for Taylor.
Reprieve also came the way of five other oil marketers standing trial for sundry economic offences before Justice Habeeb Abiru of the Ikeja High Court as the judge granted them bail on varying terms.
The marketers included Abdullahi Alao, son of an Ibadan-based business mogul, Alhaji Azeez Arisekola- Alao.
The other four who were granted bail in separate proceedings are Adaoha Ugo-Ngadi, Fakuade Babafemi Ebenezer, Ezekiel Ejidele and Walter Wagbatsoma. Wagbatsoma had also been charged along with his company, Ontario Oil and Gas Limited.
The defendants were arraigned by the Federal Government through the EFCC.
It will be recalled that the arraignment of Wagbatsoma, Ugo-Ngadi, Babafemi Ebenezer and Ejidele was stalled last Thursday because of the absence of Wagbatsoma.
They were, however, arraigned and pleaded “not guilty” yesterday before applications for their bail were entertained by the court.
Justice Abiru yesterday granted bail to Alao in the sum of N100m. He is required to produce two sureties who would enter into bond in the like sum.
The sureties are required to be resident in Lagos and also to have landed properties in Lagos. They are also required to produce a clearance evidencing payment of tax to the Lagos State government.
The court also restrained Alao from travelling abroad throughout the time of his trial without the permission of the court.
He was ordered to deposit his international passport with the chief registrar of the court.
Wagbatsoma was granted bail in the sum of N150m. He is to produce three sureties who must be resident in Lagos.
At least two of the three sureties must have landed properties in Lagos.
Adaoha Ugo-Ngadi was granted bail in the sum of N100m. She is to produce two sureties who must be residents in Lagos and also have landed properties in the state.
Ebenezer was granted bail in the sum of N10m; he is also required to produce two sureties who are both resident and have landed properties in Lagos.
Ejide was granted bail in the sum of N10m. He is to produce two sureties who are both residents in Lagos and have landed properties in Lagos.
The court ordered that the chief registrar of the court must verify the title documents of the landed properties of all sureties.
Also, all defendants must not travel outside the country during the pendency of the trials and they were ordered to deposit their travel documents with EFCC.
Justice Abiru subsequently adjourned the trial till October 22, 2012.
However, one of the defendants standing trial before Justice Onigbanjo, Oluwaseun Ogunbambo, was not so lucky as the court rejected his bail plea.
Ogunbambo, who is being separately tried along with Habila Theck and Fargo Energy Limited, was ordered to be remanded in Ikoyi Prison pending the commencement of his trial.
They had been arraigned on a six-count charge, comprising the offences of conspiracy, obtaining by false pretence, forgery and use of false document to obtain N976, 653, 110. 98k from the Petroleum Support Fund of the Federal Government.
The EFCC had opposed Ogunbambo’s bail application on the grounds that he had allegedly jumped bail before and that he kept changing his identity by representing himself with different names.
The arraignment of all the defendants was sequel to the probe of the House of Representatives Ad hoc Committee on Fuel Subsidy Payments, which allegedly indicted about 70 oil marketers.
Alao had been arraigned along with his company, Axerenergy Limited, before Justice Abiru on a seven-count charge, comprising the offences of conspiracy, obtaining by false pretences, use of forged document and forgery.
In the charge dated July 20, 2012, Alao was accused of having used forged documents “with intent to defraud” to facilitate obtaining N1,168,172,064.44 from the Federal Government, by false pretences.
Alao had pleaded not guilty to the charge.
One of the counts in the seven-count charge slammed on Alao reads: “Abdullahi Alao and Axernergy Ltd, on or about December 28, 2011 at Lagos within the Ikeja Judicial Division, with intent to defraud and order to facilitate your obtaining the sum of 1,168,172,064,44 by false from Federal Government, used a false document titled “Tankers Bill of Lading” which you purported to have been issued by Mercuria Trading N.V dated September 16, 2011.”
One of the counts in the separate nine-count charge against the remaining four defendants reads: “Walter Wagbatsoma, Adaoha Ugo-Ngadi, Ontario Oil & Gas Nigeria Ltd on or about July 7, 2010 within the jurisdiction of this honourable court, by false pretences and with intent to defraud, obtained from the Federal Government of Nigeria, the sum of N340,178,111. 231k by false pretences from the Federal Government.”
Source: National Mirror
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