Justice Adeyemi Ajayi has ordered the remand of Ahmed Idris, the former Accountant General of the Federation in the Kuje correctional facility.
The court gave the order on Friday and ordered the remand of three other defendants.
Mr Idris and the defendants were arraigned at the Abuja division of the federal high court on a 14-count charge bordering on alleged stealing and criminal breach of trust to the tune of N109.4 billion.
What happened in court
Upon arraignment, Mr Idris and the other defendants pleaded not guilty to the charges proffered against them by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission.
Chris Uche, Mr Idris’ lawyer, asked the court to permit his client to continue enjoying the administrative bail he was granted by the EFCC.
He told the court that the defendant’s passport is in the possession of the EFCC and as such, they should be allowed to come back on Monday to take their bail application.
Rotimi Jacobs, EFCC’s counsel in response argued that the administration bail ended when the defendants were charged to court.
Ruling on the matter, Justice Adeyemi held that the court is not a puppet to dance to the rhythm of public opinions.
She consequently ordered that the defendants be remanded at the Kuje facility and adjourned the proceedings for July 27, for a hearing of the bail applications.
The other defendants in the suit include: Olusegun Akindele, Mohammed Usman and Gezawa Commodity Market and Exchange Limited
In case you missed it
- Recall that the Accountant General of the Federation was first arrested by the EFCC on May 16, 2022, over alleged diversion of funds and money laundering activities to the tune of N80 billion.
- Idris was arrested after he failed to honour invitations by the commission to respond to issues connected to the alleged fraudulent acts.
- He was subsequently suspended from office by the Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Zainab Ahmed.
- EFCC accused Idris of diverting those funds through bogus consultancies and other illegal activities using proxies, family members and close associates, adding that they were laundered through real estate investments in Kano and Abuja.
