Court Grants Dasuki, Bafarawa Bail in Alleged N9.6b Scam
A High Court of the Federal Capital Territory, has granted former National Security Adviser, Sambo Dasuki; a former Minister of State for Finance, Bashir Yuguda; a former director of finance at the office of the NSA, Shuaibu Salisu; a former Sokoto State Governor, Attahiru Bafarawa; his son, Sagir, and two firms Dalhatu Investment Limited and Jabbam Ada Global Services, bail in the suit filed by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, accusing them of criminal breach of trust and of obtaining stolen property.
Justice Peter Affect, who delivered the ruling in Monday, granted the accused persons bail in the sum of N250 million each with a surety in like sum.
He also said the surety must be a civil servant, serving or retired and not less than the rank of a director.
He also said the accused persons should submit their passports with the court registrar and that any travel plans outside of Abuja must be conveyed to the court.
The accused persons were arraigned by the EFCC on a 22-count charge bordering on money laundering and criminal breach of trust.
All the accused are to be remanded in Kuje prison pending when they meet their bail application.
The EFCC had accused Messrs. Dasuki, Yuguda and Salisu and his of stealing N5.05 billion between April 14, 2014 and May 7, 2015.
The anti-graft agency also accused Mr. Yuguda, Mr. Bafarawa, his son, Sagir Bafarawa, and their company, Dalhatu Investment Limited of receiving stolen property amounting to N4.633 billion from the office of the NSA.
Another High Court of the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, had on Friday granted bail to Mr. Dasuki, and four others in another case in which they are accused of a 19-count charge of money laundering and criminal breach of trust.
The defendants in that case preferred include a former director of finance at the office of the NSA, Shuaibu Salisu, a former Group General Manager of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, Aminu Baba Kusa and two firms, Acacia Holdings Limited and Reliance Reference Hospital.
In that separate case, Justice Husseini Baba Yusuf granted bail to the accused persons on the sum of N250 Million on the condition that they produce a surety each who must be a serving or retired civil servant not lower than the rank of a director.
The civil servant must also show possession of a property within the FCT worth the same amount, the judge ordered.
All the accused were also asked to deposit copies of their passports with the court registrar. They are to also notify the court of any travel arrangement outside the FCT.
Mr. Dasuki is accused of mis-spending about $2.1 billion meant for the purchase of weapons for the fight against extremist group, Boko Haram.
He denies wrongdoing. – PREMIUM TIMES