Fani-kayode: EFCC Wants Me To Refund N840m Without Trial

Former Aviation Min­ister,  Femi Fani-Kay­ode, has said he  is being pressured by the  EFCC to refund N840 million without trial.

He had approached  the Federal High Court, Lagos, to ad­mit him to bail 24 hours after he was arraigned on a 17-count charged by the agency.

Been locked up for over 35 days without trial.
In the motion for bail filed on his behalf by his counsel, Mr. Ahmed Raji (SAN), Fani-Kayode told the court that he would be ready and willing to provide a responsible surety(ies) as may be re­quired by the court as a condition(s) for the grant of his application.

He argued that under the Administration of Crimi­nal Justice Act (ACJA), bail is more relaxed as all offences are bailable “and in the class of offences charged, it is the prosecu­tion that has a burden to show why bail should be refused. More so, under the Act, all offences can be compounded by plea bargain. So, it is not about imprisonment any longer.”

He further argued that one of the co-accused in the charge, a former Min­ister of Finance, Senator Nenadi Usman, who alleg­edly received the money from government and paid Fani-Kayode, wrote that she did not know the money was from govern­ment. So, how would Fani- Kayode know?

In the motion dated June 15, 2016, Raji argued that the offences, for which his client is charged, are bail­able.

“The Defendant/Appli­cant has never been con­victed of any offence in Nigeria or any other juris­diction.

By Section 36 (5) of the Constitution of the Fed­eral Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended), the Defendant/Applicant is presumed innocent until proven guilty.

“The reputation and past credible record of the Defendant/Applicant at­test to the fact that he will not jump bail if he is grant­ed same. The Defendant/ Applicant will not inter­fere with the investigation or further investigation of the charges preferred against him.

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