An aide to the governor of Ekiti state Ayodele Fayose has been granted bail by a Federal High court in Abuja
Abiodun Agbele was granted N500 million bail by Justice Nnamdi Dimgba on Thursday, August 4
Agbele is facing an eleven count charges instituted against him and three others including a former minister of state for defence Musiliu Obanikoro by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC)
Governor Fayose’s aide Abiodun Agbele
An aide to the governor of Ekiti state Ayodele Fayose on Thursday was granted bail by a Federal High Court in Abuja.
Justice Nnamdi Dimgba in his ruling on Thursday, August 4, granted Abiodun Agbele N500 million bail.
Agbele is currently standing trial over money laundering charges of N4.6 billion instituted against him by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission
Dimgba had yesterday, August 3, remanded Agbele in Kuje prison custody pending a ruling on the bail application filed by his counsel.
However today, Dimgba said the prosecuting counsel Johnson Ojogbane in his argument failed to give the court reasonable reason why the defendant should be granted bail.
Dimgba also said that the EFCC also failed to sufficiently make a case why it believes that Agbele would jump bail or evade trial if granted bail.
He further ruled that an accused person is considered innocent until proven otherwise and thereby deserves the right to enjoy his freedom.
Among conditions listed by the judge for the bail include that Agbele will produce two sureties in the sum of N250 each, the sureties will also provide proof of property ownership in either Abuja or Lagos.
The sureties, the judge said can either be businessmen or professional and if civil servants must hold a position not below that of a director at the Federal Civil Service Commission.
Agbele is also expected to deposit his passport with the court registrar and can only make travels outside Nigeria at the permission of the court.
Dimgba also ruled that the court’s registrar must verify all documents presented on the call of the EFCC wherever it is deemed necessary
While ordering an accelerated hearing on the matter, Dimgba also said the defendant must remain in prison custody until his bail conditions are met.
The judge further adjourned the matter to Wednesday and Thursday, October 26 and 27 for commencement of trial.
Agbele was arraigned by the EFCC alongside three others on an eleven-count charge of money laundering allegedly received from the Office of the National Security Adviser.
He is also said to have received the money alongside the former minister of state for defence Musiliu Obanikoro who the EFCC claimed is at large.
One of the count charges against them read: “That you Abiodun Agbele, Musliu Obanikoro (now at large) (while being the Minister of Defence for state), Sylvan Mcnamara Ltd, LT. A.O Adewale (now at alrge), Tunde Osinowo (now at large) and Olalekan Ogunseye (now at large) (while being the sole signatory to the Zenith Bank account of Sylvan Mcnamara Ltd) sometime between the 4th day of April, 2014 and 13th November, 2014, conspired amongst yourselves to commit illegal act to wit: laundering the sum of N4, 685, 723,000,000:00 being the sum transferred from the Office of the National Security Adviser with Central Bank of Nigeria by Col Mohammed Sambo Dasuki (Rtd) which you knew or reasonably ought to know that the said fund formed part of the proceeds of an unlawful activity of Col Mohammed Sambo Dasuki (Rtd) the then National Security Adviser, and you thereby committed an offence contrary to section 18(a) of the Money Laundering (Prohibition) Act, 2011 (As Amended in 2012) and punishable under section 15(3) of the same Act.”
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