Posted by From GODWIN TSA Abuja on
An Abuja High Court on Monday ordered that the coordinator of the Police Equipment Fund (PEF), Chief Kenny Martins, his deputy, Ibrahim Dumuje and Dr. Yaro Gella be kept in the custody of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) pending when their formal application for bail would be filed and pronounced upon.
An Abuja High Court on Monday ordered that the coordinator of the Police Equipment Fund (PEF), Chief Kenny Martins, his deputy, Ibrahim Dumuje and Dr. Yaro Gella be kept in the custody of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) pending when their formal application for bail would be filed and pronounced upon.
They were arraigned before the court by the EFCC on a three-count charge for allegedly stealing the sum of N740 million.
The amount was part of the N7. 740billion entrusted in their custody by the Association of Local Government of Nigeria (ALGON) and the Federal Government meant for the procurement of equipment for the Nigerian Police.
Justice Abubakar Talba made the order after refusing their oral application for bail that was argued by their counsels, Chief Mike Ozekhome and Dr. Tunji Abayomi.
Also charged with the offence that is punishable under section 312 of the Penal Code Act Cap 532, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria (LFN) 1990 is a limited liability company, NIGEL-STAG.
The offence carries seven years imprisonment upon conviction.
Martins and others are to remain in EFCC custody till July 14 when the case was adjourned for hearing.
Justice Talba said they are at liberty to file and argue their written application for bail even before the adjourned date.
While delivering his ruling on their oral bail application, Justice Talba held that the accused did not place before him sufficient materials to enable him exercise his discretion judicially and judiciously, as required by law.
The accused were brought in court at exactly 1.25pm by operatives of the EFCC and mobile policemen in a white Toyota Hiace bus with Abuja registration number, AU 29 YAB.
Decked in traditional attire, the accused were handed a copy of the charge sheet each by their lawyers, while still seated in the bus.
At 1.30pm, they steeped out of the bus and walked into the courtroom, where they took their seats on the left hand side of the court, close to the dock.
They were moved into the dock to take their plea of not guilty 15 minutes later when the clerk of the court called the case.
The prosecution counsel, Mr. Chile Okoroma, applied that the charge be read to the accused persons. After that, their plea was taken, Chief Ozekhome moved an oral application for their bail, citing a plethora of legal authorities to support his submissions. He told the court that if released on bail, his clients would be available to stand trial and that they would not interfere with further investigation of the case.
Ozekhome said:'The accused persons have been in detention since last Wednesday. They will not jump bail as they are distinguished Nigerians and will come to court for their trial. One of the reasons that we are asking the court to grant bail is to enable the accused persons to come forward and stand trial. The court has powers under Section 342 (1) of the Criminal Procedure Code (CPC) to direct that the accused persons be admitted to bail.
'That section has emphasized the potency of Section 341 of the CPC. Section 342 emphasized the enormous powers of your lordship to do justice and give liberty to individuals. The law, in section 34 and 35 of the 1999 constitution, holds that my lord should presume the innocence of an accused person until found guilty.
'The onus now shifts to the prosecution to show that the applicants should not be granted bail. On the issue of the severity of the offence, I submit that counts one and two are the same. One is misuse and the other is conversion. It is tantamount to trying to play Hamlet without the Prince of Denmark. I urge the court to look from justice to law rather than from law to justice and grant them bail in liberal terms."
In opposition to the application, EFCC counsel, Okoroma, informed the court of the likelihood of bringing additional charges against the accused person.
He told the court to refuse the oral application on the grounds that there were no sufficient materials placed before the court to enable it take a decision on the application in either way.
He said: 'We are vehemently opposing the application. The power of the court to grant bail is as contained in Section 35(4) of the constitution and is further enhance by section 341 of the CPC. My lord, the power of the court to grant bail is discretional and has to be exercised judiciously and judicially.
'Bail is not automatic. The accused are standing trial under section 312 of the penal code act and it prescribes a term of seven years on conviction. It is the responsibilities of the accused persons to place before the court sufficient material that will make it exercise its discretion. Rather than do that, more emphasis was placed on the case of Abiola and the State, which was at the Federal High Court and trials at the Federal High Court are summarily trails."
Martins and Dumuje are also standing trial before an Abuja Chief Magistrate's Court over charges of forgery.
The charges against them at the magistrate court read:
That you, Joni Icheka, Cosmas Okpara, Kenny Martins and Ibrahim Dumuje (now at large) on or about the 31st day of March, 2006 at Corporate Affairs Commission, Wuse Zone 5, Abuja, within the Abuja Magisterial District, did conspire among yourselves to commit felony to wit: forge documents relating to Corporate Affairs Commission and thereby committed an offence punishable under section 96(1) the Penal Code, Cap 532 Laws of the Federation of Nigeria 1999 (Abuja).
That you, Joni Icheka, Cosmas Okpara, Kenny Martins and Ibrahim Dumuje (now at large) on or about the 31st day of March 2006 at same place within the Abuja Magisterial District did forge form CAC.7 of NIGERSTALG LIMITED with intent to defraud the Police Equipment Fund and thereby committed an offence punishable under section 364 of Penal Code Act Cap 532 Laws of the Federation of Nigeria 1990 (Abuja).