A Federal High Court sitting in Abuja yesterday granted the convicted pension thief, Mr. John Yakubu Yusufu, bail in the sum of N10 million with a surety in like sum.
Delivering ruling in Yusufu’s bail application, Justice Adamu Bello said he was not only conscious of the affidavit evidence by the accused/applicant where he admitted to a previous conviction, but also mindful of the criticisms and public condemnation that occasioned the “slap-onthe- wrist” judgement that sentenced the pension thief to two years imprisonment with an option of N750, 000, for stealing over N23 billion police pension funds. Justice Bello noted that the essence of remanding the convict in prison since January 30 was to allow public outcry and emotions to calm down.
And in order to assuage the fear that Yusufu may jump bail, the judge attached other bail conditions that will compel the convict to stand trial as follows: “The surety must be a public servant not below the rank of Director. “The reliable surety must reside within the jurisdiction of the court.
“The surety must have landed property in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) to be verified by the Registrar of the court. “The accused person must deposit his international passport with the Registrar of the court and must not travel abroad without the permission of the court. “Until he meets these conditions, the accused is to remain in prison custody”.
In retrospect, the court witnessed a mild drama on March 4, when Yusufu, slumped in the dock, shortly after commencement of his trial. Yusufu, who was convicted on January 28 for illegal act of stealing about N23 billion pension funds meant for police retirees, was re-arraigned on January 30 by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on a fresh fourcount charge bordering on his failure to disclose his assets as they relate to his interest in a company called SY-A Global Services Limited.
At the last sitting, counsel to Yusufu, Mr. Theodore Maiyaki, urged the court to admit the accused/applicant to bail on liberal terms. But the prosecuting counsel, Mr. Rotimi Jacobs (SAN), raised objection to the accused person’s application “to be admitted to bail “on liberal terms”.
Jacobs predicated his objection to the convict’s bail bargain on the fact of “the criminal antecedent of the accused person,” saying: “The accused had been convicted previously of criminal breach of trust”.
He added: “The criminal record of the accused/applicant will not encourage exercise of discretion of bail on his favour, and when this is considered with the proof of evidence and gravity of the offence, the court will conveniently allow this trial to go on, while the accused person remains in custody pending trial.”
