A Nigerian businessman, Adetunji Conde, is seeking release from detention on medical grounds, citing worsening health conditions.
A medical report issued by the General Hospital, Keffi, under the authority of the Nasarawa State Hospitals Management Board, states that Conde was examined for lower abdominal pain, scrotal pain and urinary hesitancy.
He was also advised to see a urologist for further evaluation and case management.
However, according to his lawyers, his release has been stalled for 10 months since the medical advisory was issued.
Conde, who says he is battling Stage 1 renal failure, has made a fresh plea for medical bail following what his lawyers described as a severe deterioration in his health.
Conde says his ordeal began after he made a successful presentation to the Joint Tax Board (JTB) on a digital system designed to collect taxes from Nigeria’s informal sector.
Needing capital for logistics, public relations and technical integration with the JTB, Conde sought external financing. He said the initial breakthrough came through a serving judicial officer, Mabel Bello, who allegedly introduced two investors.
The investors reportedly injected ₦100 million into the project. While the technical integrations were completed, a delay arose due to a holiday shutdown by fintech provider eTranzact.
During this period, a dispute erupted over the revenue-sharing formula. Conde claims the investors demanded a monthly payout of ₦700 million, a request he rejected. He said he instead asked for time to return the principal investment, which he claimed had already been deployed into the project’s infrastructure.
The dispute escalated into a criminal matter on January 24, 2025, when police operatives arrested Conde alongside a business associate.
After spending a month in police detention, they were brought before a Magistrate Court in February 2025.
A First Information Report filed on February 19, 2025, accused Conde of cheating, criminal breach of trust and misappropriation. The report alleged that Conde conspired to falsely present himself as a registered contractor for the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) and dishonestly induced one Gbenga to deliver ₦100 million for an investment project, which was allegedly converted to personal use.
The FIR was based on petitions filed by judicial officer Mabel Bello and business facilitator Samson Bolarin, who reportedly introduced investor Gbenga Ekundayo.
Conde denied the allegations. He said his company, Elizabeth and Esther Nigeria Ltd., had judiciously invested the funds, but the project suffered delays after its collection solutions could not be integrated on the eTranzact platform as expected.
He said the unexpected delay led him to ask the investors for more time to refund their ₦100 million investment.
Difficult bail conditions led to Conde and his associate spending their first six days in Keffi Old Prison
In April 2025, the initial magistrate recused himself, and the case was reassigned to a new magistrate who imposed stricter bail terms.
While Conde’s associate reportedly perfected bail, Conde remained in detention. During an official inspection of Keffi Prison by the Chief Judge of the FCT, directives were issued for Conde’s release.
However, he was re-arrested, and his case was transferred to another Magistrate Court in Dutse Alhaji, where fresh stringent bail conditions were imposed.
According to the defence team, the case appeared more than seven times before Magistrate George Basil of Court 18, Wuse Zone 2.
Conde has now spent several months behind bars. His legal team recently moved to stall a transfer to Suleja Prison so he could continue receiving hospital treatment for early-stage kidney failure.
In a ruling delivered on July 9, 2026, an FCT High Court partially adjusted his bail variation application. The court reduced a disputed cash deposit requirement from ₦100 million to ₦50 million, to be placed in an interest-yielding account.
Conde and his defence team argue that the ₦50 million cash deposit requirement ignores binding Court of Appeal precedents discouraging excessively burdensome bail conditions.
The case is scheduled to come up again before a High Court of the FCT in Kuje on Monday, July 27. However, Conde fears he may not be produced in court because notice of his appearance has yet to be served on officials of the Keffi Correctional Centre.
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Editor: Ebuwa Omo-Osagie
