After several days at the Kuje Prison, the convicted ex-deputy director at the
Nigeria Police Pension Office, Mr. John
Yakubu Yusuf, yesterday regained
temporary freedom when Justice Adamu
Bello admitted him to bail in the sum of
N10 million and a surety in like sum.
The surety, according to the court, must
be a civil servant not below the rank of a director and also resides within the
jurisdiction of the court. Justice Bello
had, while ruling on his bail application,
given an insight into why the accused
who is standing trial on a four-count
charge of assets declaration related
offences was remanded in prison
custody for a very long time.
He said his decision to keep the accused in prison custody was informed by the public outcry that greeted the decision of Justice Abubakar Talba of the FCT High Court. In sentencing Yusuf, who pleaded guilty of colluding with others to steal over N27 billion, Justice Talba chose the most lenient of options by handing him a light sentence of two
years imprisonment with an option of
N750,000 fine.
He was also to forfeit 32 houses in the
FCT and Gombe as well as N325 million
the Economic and Financial Crimes
Commission (EFCC) said were proceeds
from the crime. Justice Adamu explained that “his conviction by the FCT High Court was trailed by public
condemnation. In this case, the accused
has pleaded not guilty to the charges
against him. I was cautious of the public
outcry to allow the passions and
emotions to cool down and also for the
interest of the accused to be kept in safe custody.”
The judge said considering the fact that
investigation into the matter had been
concluded, “I have decided to exercise
my discretion in his favour by granting
him bail.
Accordingly, the accused person is
granted bail in the sum of N10 million
and one reliable surety in the like sum
who must hold the post of a director in
the civil service. The surety must reside
within the jurisdiction of the court with a landed property. “Furthermore, the
accused person has been bared from
embarking on overseas travels without
the permission of the court.
He is also directed to surrender his
international passport with the deputy
registrar of the court.” His trial almost
ended on a tragic note during one of the sittings when he slumped in court,
forcing proceedings to be adjourned
abruptly to April 22. Drama started when prosecution counsel, Rotimi Jacobs (SAN) urged the court to refuse his (Yusuf) bail application as canvassed by his lawyer, Theodore Mayaki. Mayaki had prayed the court to grant his client bail pending the hearing and determination of the charge against him.
But in opposition, Rotimi Jacobs (SAN)
urged the court to deny the application
and allow Yusuf remain in custody
pending trial. It was in the heat of this
argument that Yusuf, who could no
longer stand the heat of the trial
collapsed in the dock. A bewildered
Justice Adamu Bello, hearing the case,
hurriedly adjourned proceedings with an order that he should be given prompt medical attention.
He was rushed out of the courtroom in
company of security personnel and
prison officials for medical attention. In a counter affidavit opposing the
application, Jacobs said Yusuf had been
convicted previously for criminal breach
of trust and it would be in his interest to
be kept in custody to prevent the
possibility of him being mobbed by
aggrieved members of the public. The
accused was alleged to have knowingly
failed to make full disclosure of his
assets and liability in the declaration of
assets form, which he filled last
February.
Besides, he was said to have failed to
declare his interest in a company known
as SY-A Global Services Limited, which is
solely owned by him and members of his immediate family. The offense is
punishable under Section 27(3) of the
EFCC Act (2004). Yusufu is equally
alleged to have failed to declare his
interest in a N250 million fixed deposit
account in the name of the said
company and maintained by Zenith Bank Plc.
The company is also alleged to have a
N10 million fixed deposit account it
maintained at First Bank of Nigeria Plc.
The anti graft agency similarly accused
Yusufu of fixing another N29 million
through one Danjuma Mele , who is
expected to testify as witness in the
trial.
The money was allegedly fixed on
Yusufu’s instructions through Mele’s
company, Jidag Technical Services Ltd, in Diamond Bank Plc. Yusufu pleaded not guilty to all four counts. Meanwhile, the court has slated March 11 to rule on the bail application.
LINK:
www.sunnewsonline.com/new/cover/n27bn-pension-thief-regains-freedom/