A Federal Capital Territory High Court in Maitama, Abuja, on Thursday ordered the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission to release a cousin of former President Goodluck Jonathan, Mr. Azibaola Robert, on bail.
Justice Olasunbo Goodluck, ruling on Robert’s ex parte application ordered that the bail should be guaranteed by two sureties.
Each sureties must be a serving or retired Director in any of the Federal Government’s ministries or parastatal and must be resident within Abuja.
The applicant is also to deposit his passport to the Chief Registrar of this court.
The EFCC had on March 23, arrested Robert over alleged diversion of $40m through a firm, One-Plus Holdings, which a sister company of Kakatar Construction and Engineering Company Limited, through allegedly phoney contract of securing oil pipelines.
He was said to have received the money from the then National Security Adviser Col. Sambo Dasuki (rtd), who is also being prosecuted for diversion of funds allegedly meant for procurement of arms.
Justice Goodluck’s ruling on the ex parte application by Robert, through his lawyer, Chief Chris Uche (SAN), held that the applicant’s detention by the EFCC for over two weeks was unconstitutional.
The judge ruled that the bail granted the applicant was to subsist pending his arraignment by EFCC before any court or the hearing of his substantive suit.
Justice Goodluck held that the applicant had disclosed sufficient evidence before the court to warrant the granting of his relief.
