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Tuesday, December 20, 2011

NDUME



Boko Haram: Ndume obtains bail, on stiff terms


The Federal High Court, Abuja, has granted bail to Mohammed Ndume, a Senator, standing trial for terrorist activities.
Justice Gabriel Kolawole, who granted the bail while ruling on an application filed by the accused, said the court applied its discretion in the interest of justice.
Kolawole explained that the court was not persuaded by the arguments advanced by both counsel to the accused person and the prosecution.
He said the parties failed to provide material evidence to back up their submissions and as such the court was left with the discretion to judiciously and judicially appropriate the bail on the conviction that the accused would present himself for trial.
Kolawole said that the court did not consider the status of the accused person as a senator to award the bail on self-recognition.
``If I had considered that he might as well lose the bail because it is inconceivable to think that a senator of the Federal Republic and two times House of Representatives member could be linked to the charge before the court.
``Based on justice and the provision of the constitution, the accused remains innocent until otherwise proved by the prosecutor.
``In the light of this, the bail application filed by counsel to the accused is hereby upheld and theobjections canvassed by the prosecutor are dismissed because they are not supportable.
``The accused is mandated to only resume the bail with payment of N25 million or a like sum.
``He is to also provide two sureties, one who must be a national officer of the political party with which he used to be elected to his present position as a senator or a serving or past official member of the Senate or House of Representatives.
``The accused is further expected to also leverage on any citizen resident in the country with not less than a property worth N50 million and such property must be valued by a recognised estate valuer.
``Such person is also mandated to provide his or her tax clearance for three years.
``The accused is, therefore, ordered to surrender his current travel documents and a letter of undertaking promising not to interfere or entangle with the prosecution witnesses to be called for this case.
``In all of these, the accused is mandated to provide a certificate-of-due- perfection from the registrar of the court showing compliance before the prison authority can release him.
``The accused is, however, availed 14 days to file another application for the review of the bail terms if it is genuinely proven that the terms are not surmountable,'' Kolawole ruled.
Mr Rickey Tarfa (SAN), counsel to the suspect, had on Dec 16 argued that his client should be granted bail based on the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
Tarfa further submitted that bail was at the discretion of the court.
He, therefore, urged the court to dismiss any objections advanced by the prosecution counsel.
Mrs Olufumilayo Fatunde, the prosecution counsel, objected to the application, saying, the offence committed by the applicant was heinous and carried about 40 years imprisonment for the four charges.
Fatunde said the accused could use his position as a member of the National Assembly to influence the prosecution witnesses for the case.
The accused person was ordered to be remanded in Kuje Prison till the bail terms were met.
The definite trial of the case was fixed for Feb 2, Feb 7 and Feb 12, 2012.

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