Ohakim Gets N270m Bail For Allegedly Stealing N270m

Ikedi Ohakim

The former Imo state governor, Ikedi Ohakim, has been granted bail in the sum of N270million by the a Federal High Court in Abuja, The Punch reports.

Ohakim is being prosecuted for N270m fraud allegedly perpetrated in 2008 and he was told by the court  to produce a surety resident in Abuja to perfect his bail.

In his ruling on Ohakim the bail application, , Justice Adeniyi Ademola,  ordered the prosecuting agency, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), ‎to submit the passport and other travel documents seized from the former governor to the Deputy Chief Registrar of the court.

The judge did however stated that the accused person should remain pending when he would meet the bail conditions.

But Justice Ademola had, on Wednesday June 8, ordered the accused person to remain in EFCC custody pending the hearing of his bail application on Thursday.

The defence counsel,Chris Uche (SAN),  while applying for bail of his client on Thursday June 9, asked the court to grant his client bail.

He told the court that his client had been faithful to the bail conditions granted him by the anti-graft agency and his  passport had been seized by the EFCC.  .

But the prosecutor, Mr. Festus Keyamo, opposed the bail aurging that rather than granting the accused person bail, the court should give the case quick hearing.

The presiding  judge  refused the Keyamo prayer saying  the accused person had placed sufficient materials before the court to warrant granting him bail.

The EFCC had on Wednesday arraigned Ohakim on three counts of fraud, including making cash payment of $2.29m (N270m) for a property in Asokoro, Abuja.

The prosecution also accused the former governor of collaborating with Tweenex Consociates H.D. Ltd. ‎to conceal the ownership of the property by drafting an agreement portraying him as a tenant in the property.

Ohakim, who was governor of Imo State between May 2007 and May 2001, was also accused of failing to declare the property as part of his assets.

The offences were allegedly committed in 2008 in violation of section 15(1)(d) and section 14(1)(b) of the Money Laundering (Prohibition) Act, 2004, respectively.