N109bn ‘fraud’: Court grants ex-AGF Ahmed Idris bail

An FCT High Court has granted bail to the former accountant-general of the federation (AGF) Ahmed Idris who is facing charges of laundering about N109 billion.

Justice Adeyemi Ajayi on Thursday adopted all the terms and conditions of the administrative bail the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) earlier gave the ex-AGF and his co-defendants.

The other defendants are Godfrey Olusegun Akindele, Mohammed Kudu Usman and Gezawa Commodity Market and Exchange Ltd.

The defendants are being prosecuted on a 14-count charge of stealing and criminal breach of trust to the tune of N109, 485,572,691.9.

“In line with the due process and supremacy of the law, the Defendants are still entitled to bail, irrespective of the enormity of the allegations against them.

“The EFCC did not in any of its processes, stated that the defendants misbehaved while on administrative bail,” Ajayi ruled.

The judge also ordered that the defendants shall not leave the Federal Capital Territory without permission of the court.

Justice Ajayi threatened to revoke the bail of any of them that fails to appear for trial.

The court also stated that the defendants shall sign an undertaken that they will abide by the bail conditions by the EFCC.

Justice Ajayi also ordered that the defendants should not procure alternate passports until the case is expensed, having deposited their original passports to the commission.