Don’t let me die in prison, ex-Minister begs Judge

By IKECHUKWU NNOCHIRI
ABUJA—BARELY 24 hours after he was remanded at the Kuje Maximum Prisons, embattled former Minister of Works, Dr. Hassan Muhammed Lawal, yesterday, instructed his team of lawyers to beg trial Justice Bilkisu Aliyu of a Federal High Court in Abuja, to release him on bail pending the hearing and determination of the substantive criminal charge preferred against him by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC.

The ex_Minister who lamented that his continued stay at the prison facility might worsen his health condition, maintained that he was suffering from both kidney and cardio-vascular ailments that could result to death if not properly handled by his regular medical doctors at the General Hospital, Lagos and the Somali General Hospital.

Arraignment for corruption

It would be recalled that shortly after he was arraigned, Wednesday, over a 23-count charge bothering on corruption, conspiracy and fraud, the trial court turned down an oral application seeking his release on the premise that the allegations levelled against him were too weighty to be handled with levity.

He said the ex-minister should remain in prison pending the filing and determination of his formal bail application.
Consequently, his lawyers, yesterday, approached the High Court with a formal bail application, wherein the accused person expressed his resolve to follow his criminal trial to its logical conclusion, even as he condemned the manner of his arrest and subsequent arraignment by the EFCC.

A 15-paragraphed affidavit in support of the bail application dated and filed yesterday, indicated that the ex_minister, through a lawyer, Mr. Efut Okoi, averred that he “has been highly traumatized by the unlawful nature of his arrest and detention.”

He bemoaned the fact that he has not been able to make any call since the time of his arrest, lamenting that he has lost in his goodwill and relationships.

The bail application was filed pursuant to section 35(4) and 36 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999, and section 118(2) of the Criminal Procedure Act.

His team of lawyers led by Mr A.B Mahmud, further averred that: “The first accused/ applicant suffer from kidney ailment and latterly developed a cardio-vascular ailment of which he needs constant medication and being professionally managed by his medical doctors at General Hospital Lagos and the Somali General Hospital. It is also important to submit respectively that the health of the first accused has deteriorated since his detention by the EFCC.

“The first accused/applicant will not jump bail if granted by this Honourable Court and will not tamper with already concluded investigation. It is important to state that the first accused/applicant has been invited on several occasions by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, and has always honoured the invitation for further interrogation.

“At the last invitation of the complainant, the first accused person elected to honour the invitation and soon thereafter was detained in the custody of the Complainant/ Respondent before being arraigned. It is our argument that a person who has contributed his own quota would not jump bail and will always be available to take his trial.”

Lawal is facing prosecution alongside his alleged accomplice, Dr. Adeogba Godwin Ademola, and six companies, following the alleged roles he played in an illegal diversion of about N75.7 billion from the coffers of the Federal Government through several fictitious contracts.

Trial Justice Aliyu ordered their remand after they took turns and pleaded “not guilty” to all the 23-count criminal charges preferred against them and six companies by the anti-graft agency.

Though the EFCC initially listed five persons and eleven companies for arraignment, it however, relied on provisions of Section 162 of the Criminal Procedure Act, and made an oral application for the names of eight of the accused persons to be expunged from the charge-sheet, saying they were presently at large.

Connivance with  other s

The EFCC alleged that the ex-Minister connived with the other accused persons to defraud the Federal Government of about N75.7 billion through bogus contract awards, stressing that not only did they conspire amongst themselves and short-changed the government, they also attempted to conceal the illicit origin of huge sums of monies traced to their individual accounts.

The trial court ordered that he should remain in prison custody pending when his formal bail application which was filed yesterday, is heard and determined, just as it also ordered all foreign representatives of the indicted companies to deposit their international passports to the court to ensure their availability for the trial.

Beside the instant case, the EFCC will, May 17, dock him and two others, Aisha Okugboye and Adesonya Adewole, over another 10_count criminal charge bothering on fraud and abuse of public office.

Meantime, the Congress for Progressive Change, CPC, has continued to allege a subterranean plot by some persons to witch hunt the accused persons through the instrumentality of the EFCC.

Northern coordinator

Lawal is not only a chieftain of the CPC in Nasarawa State, he was equally the northern co-ordinator of the Muhammadu Buhari presidential campaign.

Briefing newsmen immediately after their arraignment, National Publicity Secretary of CPC, Mr. Rotimi Fashakin, said the former Minister’s ordeal was not unconnected with the active role he played towards ensuring that the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, lost the recently concluded gubernatorial election to the CPC in Nasarawa State.

Fashakin said: “We do not support corruption neither do we support witch_hunting or unnecessary vendetta. We know the role the first accused person played in the enthronement of CPC in Nasarawa state and the fact that the incumbent governor was enraged over it and vowed to get at him by all means.

“Though this trial was earlier slated for May 17, he was hurriedly arrested and brought to court today (Wednesday). We are not perturbed as we know that eventually justice will prevail. Our resolve to subject all the ballot papers used in the recently concluded presidential election, to an intense scrutiny at the election tribunal, is making some persons jittery. Consequently, we are expecting more persecution and unprovoked tribulations ahead.”