About two months after he was arrested and detained in Kaduna Prisons, a respite of sort came yesterday for the former governor of Delta State, Chief James Ibori.
The Federal High Court sitting in Kaduna and trying him for alleged stealing and money laundering admitted the ex-governor to bail.
The story was also the same for Ibori�s friend and former counterpart in Edo State, Chief Lucky Igbinedion, as he was also granted bail by the Federal High Court sitting in Enugu.
But last night, the two former governors were still battling to fulfill the conditions attached to their bails.
Ruling on Ibori�s bail application, Justice Mohammed Lawal Shuaibu of the Federal High Court, Kaduna held that as part of the bail conditions, the former governor must deposit the sum of N50 million to the court, provide three sureties who must be residents and land owners in Kaduna State valued at the sum of N50 million.
The title deeds of the lands are to be deposited with the court.
Justice Shuaibu also directed Ibori to deposit his diplomatic and international passports with the court.
The judge subsequently adjourned the matter to February 18 and 19, 2008 for definite trial while reiterating his earlier order for accelerated hearing.
Ms. Udoamaka Okoronkwo who was charged with Ibori as second accused person was also admitted to bail in the sum of N10million with two sureties in like sum.
The sureties, according to the judge, must be resident within Kaduna.
Each of them must have titles to landed property within Kaduna and which value must not be less than the stipulated bail sum.
Ibori who was spending his 57th day in detention yesterday at the Kaduna Prisons beginning December 17, 2007 exuded joy as he stepped out of the court waving endlessly to his friends and teeming supporters who had besieged the court on solidarity visit.
Some of those in court included Senator James Manager,House members like Halims Agoada and Mercy Alumona-Ise, former commissioners, politicians, other friends and relations of Ibori.
In admitting the accused persons to bail, Shuaibu said he was mindful of the fact that the charges were bailable and that he had discretion to do so, but he noted that, �One of the guiding factors in granting bail is the certainty of the evidence that the accused will in no way either tamper with investigations or commit further offence and the most important of all, that he will avail himself to trial and answer to the charge or charges against him.�
�In deciding on the application�, he said, �the court should endeavour to limit itself to the deposition made in the affidavit evidence and should avoid making pronouncements that will go into the merits of the substantive matter.�
According to the trial judge: �The first accused has averred in his affidavit that he will surrender himself for trial and that he will not do anything inimical to the course of justice if granted bail.
�This court is of the view that there is sufficient material before it to exercise its discretion in admitting him to bail. He is admitted to bail with the sum of N50 million and three sureties in the like sum.
�The sureties must be resident in Kaduna and each must have titles to landed property within Kaduna and which value must not be less than the stipulated bail sum.
�The original title documents to the said landed property shall be deposited in the court and so also the first accused applicant�s international and diplomatic passports.�
Justice Shuaibu also observed that, �By provision of section 118 of the CPA and section 35 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999, while section 35 envisages a speedy trial, section 36 presumes an accused innocent until proved guilty.�
Yesterday�s ruling was initially set for January 31, 2008 following the completion of legal arguments by counsel for both the prosecution and accused in respect of the bail application.
The court, however, had to adjourn ruling to February 4, 2008 because Justice Shuaibu was attending a seminar organized for all Federal High Court Judges in Abuja.
On February 4, the ruling was again aborted following the strike embarked upon by court workers under the aegis of Judicial Staff Union of Nigeria (JASU).
The former governor who is facing a 129-count charge of money laundering and stealing was charged together with Odoamaka Okoronkwo and three other corporate bodies � MEER Engineering Nig. Ltd., Bainenox Limited and SAGICON Nigeria Ltd.
Ibori was alleged to have used 15 �fictitious persons� to acquire shares in Afribank to the tune of about N2.77 billion.
He was also accused of making cash payment in the sum of $15,000,000.00 (Fifteen Million Dollars) to bribe officials of the commission in order to influence their investigations of the former governor.
In Enugu, the Federal High Court trying Igbinedion, the former Edo State governor, attached 16 stringent conditions to his bail.
The trial judge, Justice Olayinka Faji, who defied the ongoing industrial action by judiciary workers to entertain the case, said Igbinedion should remain in the custody of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) until all the conditions are met.
Among the conditions are that the former governor will produce two Federal Permanent Secretaries who are not likely to retire in the next three years as sureties in the sum of N10m each.
Igbinedion is also to deposit his international passport with EFCC and not travel out of the country without the order of the court.
The two permanent secretaries who will stand as sureties to the former governor will also not travel out of the country.
The former governor is also required to be reporting to EFCC every first Friday fortnightly.
Justice Faji, who also ruled that the order of the court should be served on the Head of Service and Comptroller of Immigration for their information and compliance, said the sureties must be credible people.
The former governor, the judge said, must be ready to submit himself anytime he is needed in court.
Igbinedion and his two sureties are also required to provide two recent passport photographs and make available to EFCC their three years tax clearance.
In his ruling, Justice Faji reviewed the arguments of the various counsel to the parties in the case and said the court had the discretion to grant bail in view of the proof of evidence before it such as facts in support of or against the bail application and availability of the accused person to appear for trial as well as the gravity of the offence.
He said the argument of EFCC�s lawyer, who had opposed the bail application on the grounds that as a former governor the suspect might interfere with witnesses because he has links with miscreants in Edo State, did not hold water since the prosecution could not show proof that Igbinedion controls militant groups in the state.
Justice Faji also held that the commission could not prove that the suspect jumped bail.
He equally said the prosecution did not also show how the bail would interfere with Igbinedion�s continued investigation for financial crime in Edo State.
According to the judge: �It is important to remember that bail is to make sure that the accused person comes for trial. Also, the condition for bail ought not to be such as to allow a bail and deny it under the guise of stringent conditions. The condition must therefore be reasonable. To my mind, the function of the bail bond should not be more important that� the availability of the accused to appear for trial. I therefore grant the accused person bail.�
However, counsel for 2nd to 4th accused (Companies linked to Igbinedion), Mr. Richard Ahonarogho, protested the conditions for bail describing them as very stringent, and told the court that Edo as one of the marginalised states in the country does not have two Federal Permanent Secretaries.
But he was interrupted by Justice Faji who simply said, �this should not be coming from you.�
Speaking to newsmen later, Igbinedion�s lawyer, Mr. Adetunji Oyeyipo (SAN), who also described the bail conditions as stringent, however, said he was satisfied with the ruling.
He said his client would work to meet the conditions but added that if there was a problem �we know what to do�.
On the accelerated hearing which the judge ordered in respect of the case, Oyeyipo also said that the legal team of the former governor was prepared for it.
Yesterday�s case came up as early as 9.15 am earlier than the court had fixed during the last hearing when it adopted the addresses of counsel for both Igbinedion and EFCC.
Shortly after yesterday�s ruling, Igbinedion left in company with EFCC operatives to their Independent Layout Office where he had been detained for sometime now.
The case will come up for accelerated hearing on February 25 to 28 and continue on March 3.
EFCC had on January 9, 2008 filed a 147-count charge of money laundering and abuse of office against the ex-Edo State governor
He was charged along with three companies – Kiva Corporation Limited, Gava Corporation Limited and Ekpen and Sons.
Igbinedion was said to have used his relatives to siphon the said N2.9 billion.
The sum, according to the commission, was looted and transferred through numerous companies, including Gava Corporation Ltd.
Another company belonging to his brother, Mike Igbinedion, was said to have also been used to transfer part of the money.
Feb122008