The Former Accountant General of the Federation, Ahmed Idris and his co-defendants have pleaded not guilty to 14-count charges bordering on stealing and criminal breach of trust, to the tune of N109.5 billion.
They pleaded not guilty after the charges were read to them on Friday.
Justice Adeyemi Ajayi of the Federal Capital Territory High Court, Abuja, also ordered that the defendants be remanded in Kuje Correctional Facility, pending the hearing of the bail application.
The defendant’s counsel filed an application urging the court to maintain the administrative bail granted to the defendants by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, since the defendants never breached any of the conditions by the EFCC, and are still in possession of their international passports.
The prosecution lawyer Rotimi Jacobs, SAN, objected to the submissions of the defendant’s counsel, saying that the decision would send a wrong signal to the general public.
He noted that the defendants only enjoyed the administrative bail when the matter wasn’t charged to court, but going forward, bail is at the discretion of the court.
Justice Ajayi after listening to the lawyers ordered that the defendants be remanded in Kuje Correctional Facility, pending the hearing of the bail application.
The trial Judge also said that contrary to the submission of the defendant’s counsel that they enjoy administrative bail by the EFCC, the court must allow lawyers to make submissions regarding the bail administration.
Justice Ajayi, therefore, adjourned to July 27.
Other defendants in the matter are Olusegun Akindele, Mohammed Usman and Gezawa Commodity Market and Exchange Limited, as 2nd, 3rd and 4th defendants respectively.
Ahmed Idris was arrested in Kano, after he failed to respond to invitations by the commission, to answer questions over the allegation of N80 billion fraud.
Two days later, Idris was suspended indefinitely by Zainab Ahmed, the Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning.
One of the charges read, “That you, Ahmed Idris, between February and December 2021 at Abuja, in the Abuja Judicial Division of the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory, being a public servant, by your position as the Accountant General of the Federation, accepted from Olusegun Akindele, a gratification in the aggregate sum of Fifteen Billion, One Hundred and Thirty-Six Million, Two Hundred and Twenty One Thousand, Nine Hundred and Twenty One Naira and Forty-Six Kobo, which sum was converted to the United States Dollars by the said Olusegun Akindele, and which sum did not form part of your lawful remuneration, but as a motive for accelerating the payment of 13% derivation to the nine oil producing states in the federation, through the office of the Accountant General of the Federation, and you thereby committed an offence, contrary to Section 155 of the Penal Code Act, Cap 532 Laws of the Federation of Nigeria 1990, and punishable under the same section”.
(Editor: Ifeanyi Mark)
