Nigeria: Court Grants Bankole Bail, Re-Arrested By EFCC

Tobi Soniyi

13 June 2011

A Federal High Court in Abuja presided over by Justice Donatus Okorowo Monday granted bail to embattled former speaker of the House of Representatives, Mr. Dimeji Bankole ,in the sum of five million Naira with one surety who must be an owner of a landed property worth the bail sum within the jurisdiction of the court.

The surety is to deposit the title document to the property with the court Registrar for verification as to its authenticity.

The would be surety is also to deposit a copy of his recent passport size photograph as well as that of the former Speaker.

Soon after proceedings was brought to an end at the court, Bankole was re- arrested by operatives of the anti graft agency for another arraignment Monday before an Abuja High Court on yet to be disclosed charges.

The arraignment is fixed for 1 pm.

The ruling Monday morning followed the hearing of the bail application by the court last Friday.

The court slated the ruling for Monday and remanded Bankole in the custody of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission pending the ruling.

Bankole had urged the court to grant him bail on self recognition. He had argued that he is entitled to bail on self recognition being the immediate past House of Representative Speaker and a holder of national honour of Commander of the Federal Republic.

Bankole further claimed that he had never been tried for any offence or convicted for any offence in Nigeria or any other jurisdiction and that his reputation and past record attest to the fact that he would not jump bail if granted one and also denied ever conspiring with anybody or group to inflate contracts as alleged by the EFCC.

He had also claimed to be solely responsible for the emotion and material support of his aged parents and other dependants who would be adversely affected by any denial of his bail.

In reaching the decision to grant bail to the former Speaker, the court observed that certain paragraphs of the counter affidavits filed by the anti graft agency breached the Evidence Act in that they did not disclose the source of their information regarding the alleged arrangements by the former Speaker to abscond from the country through British Airway to London and subsequently expunged the offending paragraphs from the counter affidavit and held that the EFCC had failed in showing cause why bail should not be granted to the former Speaker.

Consequently, the court exercised its discretion in Bankole’s favour and granted him bail.

The court however stated that he be remanded in the custody of the anti graft agency if he failed to meet up with the bail conditions.

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