Court Grants Ex-PDP Chair And Son N600m Bail But They’ve Been Remanded In Kuje Prison

A Federal High Court sitting in Abuja has ordered that Abba, the son of Mohammed Haliru Bello, former chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, should be remanded in Kuje prison, Abuja pending the fulfilment of his bail condition.

Abba, his father and Bam Properties are being tried by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, on a four-count charge of fraudulently receiving the sum of N300 million from the office of National Security Adviser.

The court ordered that his father should remain in Abuja Clinics from where he was brought to court on a wheelchair on Thursday morning till the perfection of his own bail condition.

Justice Ahmed Mohammed said the ex-PDP Chairman should remain under the supervision of the Inspector General of Police like he ordered when he was first arraigned on Tuesday.

While ruling on the bail applications of the first and third defendant, Justice Mohammed noted that the offences the accused are charged with are bailable.

He also said the two defendants are suffering from different health challenges while they cannot also interfere in the process of investigation which he noted has been concluded.

Justice Mohammed also said the defendants have sworn to affidavits not to jump bail and to provide reasonable sureties.

He therefore granted Abba bail in the sum of N300 million with two sureties in the same amount.

According to the judge, one of the sureties must be a federal civil servant on at least grade level 12 while the second surety must have a landed property worth N300 million in Abuja.

He added that the second surety must swear to an oath that he is ready to forfeit the landed property if the accused jumped bail.

The judge also ordered the applicant to deposit his international passport as well as two recent passport photographs with the court.
Justice Mohammed granted his father bail with the same conditions while he adjourned trial till 16 February.

Abdulaziz Ibrahim, counsel to the applicants described the bail conditions as tough, but he said his clients will try to meet them.

He however did not rule out possibility of coming back to the court to seek variation of the bail conditions if it was impossible to meet them.
The accused had pleaded not guilty to the four-count charge when they were first arraigned on Tuesday.