Court denies former House of Reps Speaker bail

Court denies former House of Reps Speaker bail
Uche Iheanacho, Abuja

Former Speaker of the Nigerian House of Representatives, Mr Dimeji Bankole has been refused bail by a Federal High Court in Abuja, the country’s capital city, after been arraigned for criminal offences bordering on contract inflation and fraud.

Bankole, who was arraigned before Justice Donatus Okorowa, faced allegations of contract inflation for the purchase of sundry items including, but not limited to electronic gadgets, vehicles and other accessories.

His oral bail application made by his lead defence counsel Awomolo Adegbenga was refused.

The EFCC Prosecutor, Festus Keyamo, called on the presiding Judge, Justice Okorowa to set Friday 10 June for the hearing of his bail application.

Justice Okorowa also fixed the commencement of Bankole’s trial  for 26 and 27 of July.

Charges of intent to defraud

The charge, with the reference number FHC/ABJ/CR/47/11,  stated: “That you, Dimeji Bankole and others now at large on or about the 28th of May, within the jurisdiction of the Federal High Court, being Body of Principal officers of the House of Representatives responsible for the approval of contracts in the House of Representatives, with intent to defraud, did conspire amongst yourselves to inflate the cost of 400 units of 40-inch Samsung (LNS.3410 Television sets.

The charge stated that by approving the purchase of the said item at the rate of 525 thousand Naira per unit, instead of the prevailing market price of 295 thousand Naira, the principal officers committed an offense contrary to Section 58 (4) (a) of the public Procurement Act No. 14 of 2007 and punishable under Section 58 (5) of the same Act.

It also said: “That you, Dimeji Bankole and others now at large, on or about the 28th of May, 2008 within the jurisdiction of the Federal High Court  being body of Principal officers of the House of Representatives responsible for the approval of contracts in the House of Representatives , with intent to defraud, rigged the bid for the purchase of 100 units of Sharp Digital Copier 5316 by refusal to follow all the procedures prescribed for public procurements in Sections 17 to 56 of the Public Procurement Act N0.14 of 2007, leading to a loss of value to the national treasury and thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 58 (4) (e) of the Public Procurement Act, No.14 of 2007 and punishable under Section 58 (5) of the same Act.”

The charge said that the principal officers also rigged the bid for the purchase of three units of Mercedes Benz S-600 cars by refusal to follow all the procedures prescribed for public procurements in Sections 17 to 56 of the Public Procurement Act No.14 of 2007.

It would be recalled that the former Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon. Bankole was arrested Sunday evening in his Asokoro resident by EFCC operatives after a four-hour standoff.

His arrest was sequel to an alleged two-time invitation extended to him by the authorities of the anti-graft body that were all turned down.

Background

A Federal Capital Territory Magistrate’s Court had earlier granted prayers by the commission to carry out a search warrant on all his known properties.

Consequently, operatives of the anti-graft agency have set out to enforce the order, just as Bankole faced an intensive grilling session by a five-man panel set up to interrogate him over the alleged 10 billion Naira loan scam and other sundry allegations. The loan was secured from United Bank for Africa (UBA).

Check revealed that besides the court order for verification of his properties, the anti-graft commission may have moved to secure a legal stand to keep the former speaker in custody for a period beyond the statutorily permissible limits to ensure a thorough investigation of the allegations against him.

Meanwhile, all the travel documents of the former speaker have been confiscated as investigation continues. He was still being held in custody as at the time our correspondent received the charges.

An earlier planned arrest was last Friday botched, following an intervention from powerful people both in and outside government, which included powerful emirs from the North.

Other charges against Bankole include the 2.3 billion Naira car scam, which the commission had since completed its investigation on, last year.

Before the expiration of his tenure on Saturday mid-night, he had been placed on the watch list of the commission.

The EFCC had placed the residence of the speaker under surveillance following “intelligence reports” that he planned to jet out of the country.

Responding to Bankole’s travail, his Media Aid, in a statement in Abuja said ‘The Economic and Financial Crime Commission, EFCC is presently subjecting Hon. Dimeji Bankole, the former Speaker of the House of Representatives, to psychological torture as it has refused access to him by his team of lawyers and family members since he was abducted on Sunday night at his residence in Asokoro, Abuja.

“This is against his fundamental and constitutional rights to have access to his lawyers and close family members while in custody of the anti- graft agency,” his spokesperson said.

Information at our disposal indicates that pressure was mounted on him throughout Sunday night to get him to write a statement implicating some members of the House of Representatives.

“As we earlier alerted, the manner EFCC has gone about the invitation of the former Speaker and the subsequent media trial and prosecution with EFCC feeding unsuspecting public with such fiction of the former speaker resisting arrest, under house arrest and attempting to flee the country even as No. 4 citizen of Nigeria shows that the agency is engaged in political witch hunting and vendetta against the former Speaker,” the Media Aid added.

Funds mismanagement

Its attempt to forestall his exit from the country had forced the commission to visit his official and personal residences in Apo legislative quarters, before he was finally traced to the Asokoro guest house.
The Commission had launched an investigation into Bankole's activities following a petition from a group, Youth Anti-Corruption League.

The group had called on the EFCC to investigate the 10 billion Naira loan controversy, Bankole's role in the 2.3 billion Naira car scam, and the mismanagement of the Nine billion Naira capital budget of the House for 2008/2009.

The immediate past speaker had written to the anti-graft commission, rescheduling the time to appear before the five-man panel of investigators probing the alleged scam in the House.

Bankole alleged that the commission did not invite him properly, just as he claimed that the agency had initiated his trial in the media first before inviting him.

However, the commission denied his claim, flaunting a letter it had forwarded to the Clerk of the House for his formal invitation.

Williams