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Justice Adeyemi Ajayi of the Federal Capital Territory High Court, Abuja, on Thursday, July 28 granted bail to former Accountant-General of the Federation, Ahmed Idris and others over fraud allegations.
The judge had on Wednesday reserved her ruling on the bail application and ordered that Idris and his co-defendants: Godfrey Olusegun Akindele, Mohammed Kudu Usman, be remanded in prison custody till Thursday (today).
The remand order followed their arraignment by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC). They were arraigned alongside a company, Gezawa Commodity Market and Exchange Limited, on a 14-count charge bordering on gratification, abuse of office and money laundering to the tune of over N109 billion fraud.
The defendants are being prosecuted on a 14-count charge of stealing and criminal breach of trust to the tune of N109, 485,572,691.9.
In her ruling on Thursday, Justice Ajayi upheld all the terms and conditions of the administrative bail the EFCC earlier gave the ex-AGF and his two co-defendants.
Ajayi said, “In line with the due process and supremacy of the law, the Defendants are still entitled to bail, irrespective of the enormity of the allegations against them.
“The EFCC did not in any of its processes, state that the defendants misbehaved while on administrative bail”, Ajayi ruled.
The judge however, gave conditions that the defendants must adhere to which include that they shall not leave the FCT without permission of the court, and threatened also threatened to revoke the bail of any of them who fail to appear for trial.
The court also ordered the defendants to sign an undertaken that they will abide by the bail conditions given the anti-graft agency.
Justice Ajayi also orders that the defendants should not have and shall not procure alternate passports until the case is expensed, having deposited their original passports to the commission.
The judge gave the ruling on grounds that the allegations against the defendants are yet to be proven.
The trial commenced immediately after the bail applicati
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