Date Published: 06/13/11

EFCC Docks Bankole, Nafada Over N37. 7 B Loan Scam....EX Speaker Gets Bail On His 16 Charges....But Remanded Till Thursday on fresh charges

Former Speaker of the House of Representatives, Mr. Dimeji Bankole and his deputy, Usman Nafada were on Monday, arraigned at the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory , FCT, on a fresh 17 count charge of criminal breach of trust, misappropriating and theft. They were arraigned before Justice Sulaiman Belgore. They were alleged to have obtained and dishonestly disbursed N37.7 billion without the authorization and consent of the Revenue Mobilization, Allocation and Fiscal Commission when Bankole and Nafada were Speaker and Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives. However , the former Speaker" bail application , in his own case, sailed through with a price tag of N5 Million, plus other conditions. He is being prosecuted solely on some sundry charges involving strings of alleged embezzlement and misappropriation of funds. Even though he got bail on his charges, he and Nafada were remanded on the new charges till Thursday .

When the present charges were read to Bankole and Nafada, the two accused persons pleaded not guilty. Counsel to the two accused persons, Adegboyega Awomolo, SAN, attempted to apply for bail orally. But Justice Belgore refused an oral application for bail. “I cannot take an oral application as far as this case is concerned. What is worth doing is worth doing well. The hearing of bail application depends on how quick you file it. If you can file and serve the prosecution, we are here”, he said.

On this score, Awomolo prayed the court to remand the accused persons in EFCC custody but Prosecution Counsel, Festus Keyamo, objected to the application, urging the court to remand the duo in prison custody as his client, the EFCC, has no space at the moment for them. While adjourning the case to Thursday 16th June, 2011, for ruling on bail application, the judge, however, asked that the accused be remanded in EFCC’s custody.

Count one of the fresh charge reads, “That you Dimeji Sabur Bankole and Usman Bayero Nafada, being Principal Officers of the House of Representatives of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, on or about the 12th day of May, 2010, in Abuja, within the jurisdiction of the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory, did agree amongst yourselves to commit a felony, to wit: criminal breach of trust by agreeing to approve the allowances and/or “running costs” of Members of the House of Representatives in violation of the approved Remuneration Package for Political, Public and Judicial Office Holders by the Revenue Mobilization Allocation and Fiscal Commission and the extant Revised Financial Regulations of the Federal Government of Nigeria, 2009 and thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 97(1) of the Penal Code Act, Cap 532, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria ( Abuja ) 1990 and punishable under Section 315 of the same Penal Code Act. Count two reads: “That you Dimeji Sabur Bankole and Usman Bayero Nafada, being Principal Officers of the House of Representatives of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, sometime around January 2011, in Abuja, within the jurisdiction of the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory, being entrusted with House of Representatives’ Account No. 00390070000018 with the United Bank of Africa, Plc, property of the Federal Government of Nigeria, dishonestly used that account to obtain a loan of Ten Billion, Three Hundred and Eighty Million Naira (N10,380,000,000.00) from the United Bank of Africa, Plc, to augment allowances and “running costs” of members of the House of Representatives in violation of the extant Revised Financial Regulations of the Federal Government of Nigeria, 2009 and thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 311 of the Penal Code Act, Cap 532, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria (Abuja) 1990 and punishable under Section 315 of the same Penal Code Act. Earlier in the day, a Federal High Court sitting in Abuja on Monday, June 13th, 2011, admitted a former Speaker, House of Representatives, Mr. Dimeji Bankole, to bail on some stiff conditions. Bankole, who is being prosecuted by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, on a 16 criminal count charge of contract inflation and fraudulent embezzlement of public fund, was granted bail on the orders of Justice Donatus Okorowa. Justice Okorowa, in his ruling, granted him bail in the sum of N5 million with one surety in like sum. The surety, who must be a responsible citizen of the country must own a landed property in Abuja metropolis. Besides, he must tender the title deed of the property to the deputy chief registrar of the court for identification. The court also ruled that both the surety and the accused person must surrender their travel documents to the court. The accused person, the judge ordered, must remain in EFCC custody until the conditions are met. He was however taken before another court for the fresh charges while he was yet to fulfil the bail conditions.