Court Grants Ex-Governor Saminu Turaki Bail, Cautions EFCC

Former Governor of Jigawa State, Ibrahim Saminu Turaki has been
granted bail by a Federal High Court in Abuja after he was
re-arraigned on a 32 count charge for corruption.

The fresh charges bordered mainly on conspiracy to conceal the
genuine nature of N12billion paid by a firm, Natural Resources Ltd,
as signature bonus for Oil Prospecting License officially allocated
to them by the Federal Government of Nigeria in 2006.

Surprisingly, the EFCC failed to arraign any of the 2nd – 4th
defendants which were firms allegedly involved in the transactions.
They could not also confirm to the court that those defendants were
served with the current charges or informed of the arraignment.

This development irked the presiding Judge, Justice Nnamdi
Dimgba and further fueled speculations in many quarters that the
whole trial was politically instigated against the Former
Governor.

Justice Dimgba cautioned the EFCC on the need to always observe
the rule of law and stressed that there is a presumption of
innocence for an accused until proven guilty. He proceeded to grant
Saminu Turaki bail and agreed with some of the release conditions
earlier set by Justice Yusuf Haliru of the FCT High Court.

The case was subsequently adjourned to September 19th 2017 for
commencement of trial. As at press time, Saminu Turaki has
fulfilled the bail conditions but is yet to regain his freedom.
Already, there is growing concern because of EFCC’s serial
violation of court orders.

It will be recalled that Saminu Turaki was arrested by EFCC on
the 4th of July at a book launch in Abuja and remained in EFCC
custody.

On Thursday 13 July 2017, Justice Yusuf Halilu of the FCT High
Court admitted him to bail but the commission refused to release
him even after he had fulfilled the bail conditions.

Consequently, his lawyers proceeded to file contempt proceedings
against the EFCC Chairman, Ibrahim Magu at the Federal High Abuja.
The case will be heard on Thursday, 20th July 2017.

Former Governor of Jigawa State, Ibrahim Saminu Turaki has been
granted bail by a Federal High Court in Abuja after he was
re-arraigned on a 32 count charge for corruption.

The fresh charges bordered mainly on conspiracy to conceal the
genuine nature of N12billion paid by a firm, Natural Resources Ltd,
as signature bonus for Oil Prospecting License officially allocated
to them by the Federal Government of Nigeria in 2006.

Surprisingly, the EFCC failed to arraign any of the 2nd – 4th
defendants which were firms allegedly involved in the transactions.
They could not also confirm to the court that those defendants were
served with the current charges or informed of the arraignment.

This development irked the presiding Judge, Justice Nnamdi
Dimgba and further fueled speculations in many quarters that the
whole trial was politically instigated against the Former
Governor.

Justice Dimgba cautioned the EFCC on the need to always observe
the rule of law and stressed that there is a presumption of
innocence for an accused until proven guilty. He proceeded to grant
Saminu Turaki bail and agreed with some of the release conditions
earlier set by Justice Yusuf Haliru of the FCT High Court.

The case was subsequently adjourned to September 19th 2017 for
commencement of trial. As at press time, Saminu Turaki has
fulfilled the bail conditions but is yet to regain his freedom.
Already, there is growing concern because of EFCC’s serial
violation of court orders.

It will be recalled that Saminu Turaki was arrested by EFCC on
the 4th of July at a book launch in Abuja and remained in EFCC
custody.

On Thursday 13 July 2017, Justice Yusuf Halilu of the FCT High
Court admitted him to bail but the commission refused to release
him even after he had fulfilled the bail conditions.

Consequently, his lawyers proceeded to file contempt proceedings
against the EFCC Chairman, Ibrahim Magu at the Federal High Abuja.
The case will be heard on Thursday, 20th July 2017.