A former Minister of Works, Dr. Hassan Lawal, was
on Tuesday arraigned by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission on
a fresh nine-count charge of money laundering amounting to N42m.
He was, however, denied bail again by Justice Bilikisu Aliyu of Federal High Court in Abuja.
The accused was last week denied bail by the court when he was arraigned on a 24- count charge of fraud and money laundering proffered against him and 14 others by the EFCC.
The ex-minister, who pleaded not guilty to the nine- count charge was meant to be arraigned alongside one Adesanya Adewale (who is now at large) on a 10-count charge.
But the commission’s prosecuting lawyer, Mr. Wahab Shittu, asked the court to strike out count one.
He also asked the court to remand the accused person in prison pending trial.
The lawyer to Lawal, Mr. Yahaya Mahmud, however, applied to the court to admit his client to bail especially as the prosecution was yet to file a proof of evidence before the court.
He said in the bail application that his client, whose health has worsened since his arrest, suffered from a kidney ailment which required constant medical attention.
Shittu, however, opposed the application and asked the court to consider the gravity of the offence committed by the accused person.
He said such offences must be treated seriously as it affected the image of the country both at the local and international level.
The EFCC lawyer added that since proceedings in such criminal matters were meant to be tried summarily, the failure of the prosecution to file any proof of evidence was not a ground to seek bail.
He said there were no sufficient materials before the court to justify the bail, adding, however, that it was not enough to say the accused person suffers a medical condition without producing a medical report as well as credible evidence given by an expert to that effect.
By Friday Olokor Courtesy Of: Punch
He was, however, denied bail again by Justice Bilikisu Aliyu of Federal High Court in Abuja.
The accused was last week denied bail by the court when he was arraigned on a 24- count charge of fraud and money laundering proffered against him and 14 others by the EFCC.
The ex-minister, who pleaded not guilty to the nine- count charge was meant to be arraigned alongside one Adesanya Adewale (who is now at large) on a 10-count charge.
But the commission’s prosecuting lawyer, Mr. Wahab Shittu, asked the court to strike out count one.
He also asked the court to remand the accused person in prison pending trial.
The lawyer to Lawal, Mr. Yahaya Mahmud, however, applied to the court to admit his client to bail especially as the prosecution was yet to file a proof of evidence before the court.
He said in the bail application that his client, whose health has worsened since his arrest, suffered from a kidney ailment which required constant medical attention.
Shittu, however, opposed the application and asked the court to consider the gravity of the offence committed by the accused person.
He said such offences must be treated seriously as it affected the image of the country both at the local and international level.
The EFCC lawyer added that since proceedings in such criminal matters were meant to be tried summarily, the failure of the prosecution to file any proof of evidence was not a ground to seek bail.
He said there were no sufficient materials before the court to justify the bail, adding, however, that it was not enough to say the accused person suffers a medical condition without producing a medical report as well as credible evidence given by an expert to that effect.
By Friday Olokor Courtesy Of: Punch
Nigerian Sesame Street just went live over there. It's called Sesame Square. I mean, if their mastery of the English language gets better, their scam emails will soon be readable and less obvious........ dammit
ReplyDeleteMaybe they'll finally learn how to spell the words "transaction" and "Sincerely".
http://doodiepants.com/2011/05/24/sesame-street-nigerian-spelling/