Jonathan’s aide stands surety for subsidy fraud suspect
Special
Assistant to President Goodluck Jonathan on Intergovernmental Affairs,
Mrs. Mariam Ali, has volunteered to be the bail surety for one of the
suspects of fuel subsidy fraud, Christian Taylor.
Taylor was on July 26 arraigned along with Mahman Ali, who is son
of Mariam and a former Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party,
Ahmadu Ali.
Counsel for Taylor, Mr. Kolade Obafemi, said Mariam had “prepared” to be the surety for the accused.
Taylor, who his lawyer said was a Sierra Leonean, was on July 26
arraigned before the court and granted bail on the condition that one of
his sureties must be his blood relation who was resident in Lagos.
But the defence urged the court to vary the condition on the grounds
that it would be difficult for him to secure a blood relation that was
resident in Lagos as his surety.
Obafemi urged the court to accept Mariam, being “a responsible Nigerian instead of Taylor’s blood relation”, as the surety.
“The proposed surety, Dr. Mariam Ali is a responsible Nigerian. She
is the Special Assistant to the President on Intergovernmental Affairs,”
he said.
The judge, Justice Adeniyi Onigbanjo, however, despite opposition to
the application for bail condition variation, accepted the defendant’s
proposition of Mariam as a surety.
EFCC counsel, Mr. Rotimi Jacobs, had opposed the proposition on the
grounds that Mariam had not made any deposition before the court and
that the accused was trying to misrepresent the fact of his nationality.
He alleged that Taylor had in a written statement claimed to have
hailed from Okpe Local Giverment Area of Edo State and that he had
stated in his asset declaration form that his father, too, was from the
state.
The judge, however overruled Jacobs, saying, “the essence of granting the bail was to ensure that the accused attended trial.”
Taylor and Ali along with their company, Nasaman Oil Services were
arraigned on July 26 before Onigbanjo on three counts among which was
fraudulent collection of about N2.23bn from the Federal Government in
the name of subsidy for importing various litres of PMS.
Date for commencement of trial had been fixed for October 30.
Meanwhile, Abdulahi, son of Ibadan-based politician, Arisekola Alao,
was again on Wednesday granted bail by Justice Habeeb Abiru of a Lagos
High Court, Ikeja in a charge involving fraud in subsidy payments.
This came even as the EFCC also arraigned Walter Wagbastoma, Adaoha
Ugo-Ngadi, Fakuade Babafemi, Ezekiel Ejidele, along with Ontario Oil
& Gas Nigeria Limited before the same court for similar offences.
They were granted bail, shortly after the accused pleaded not guilty to all the nine counts contained in their charge.
The counts include obtaining about N1.6bn from the Federal Government
under false pretence by purporting the money to be payment for subsidy
on certain litres of fuel which they allegedly failed to supply.
Abiru granted bail to Alao, who was on July 26, arraigned along with
his company, Axenergy Limited, on seven counts of obtaining about N1.5bn
from the Federal Government purportedly as subsidy payment for certain
litres of Premium Motor Spirit.
Alao faces separate charge along with Mahmud Tukur, son of the
incumbent national chairman of the ruling Peoples Democratic Party,
Bamanga Tukur, Alex Ochonogo and Eterna Oil and Gas Limited, before
Onigbanjo.
They were all granted bail on July 26 after their arraignment.
Their trial will commence on October 24.
