A Federal High Court sitting in Abuja yesterday freed a former Director of Pension Administration in the Office of the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, Dr. Sani Teidi Shuaibu and nine other accused persons standing trial over a N4.56bn pension scam.
The trial judge, Justice Adamu Bello, discharged all the accused persons after the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, withdrew the criminal charge preferred against them. The anti-graft agency had hinted that it wanted to amend the joint charge against them.
The accused persons, by the amended charge, are to be tried separately. The charges were already lodged at the registry of the high court as at the time of withdrawing the joint charge. Counsel to the accused persons jointly attempted to crumble the fresh charge by arguing that it amounted to an abuse of court process to file a new charge when the old charge was yet to be withdrawn.
They urged the court to refuse the oral application by EFCC to withdraw the old charge after the fresh ones had been filed and to grant them an adjournment in the case to establish that the prosecution indeed abused court process.
The prosecution however said that the application of the accused was strange in law and that the prosecution was at liberty to withdraw its case against the accused at any stage of the trial. EFCC counsel, Chief Godwin Obla, said he was more surprised because it was the agreement of both the counsel to the accused and the prosecution to file the new charge and withdraw the old one.
The trial judge, Justice Bello, however ruled in favour of the EFCC. Immediately after the proceedings, the EFCC rearrested all the accused persons in court in preparation for their fresh arraignment. Efforts by their counsel to stall their re-arrest were frustrated by the EFCC counsel.
He had opposed the application by their counsel to allow them walk home on the strength of the previous bail granted the court. National Mirror reports that Justice Bello had, in the course of their trial, admitted them to bail in the sum of N10m each and a surety each in like sum.
The sureties must have properties in Abuja; and such properties must be verified by the court, while the value of the property should not be less than N10m. Besides, the accused persons’ travelling documents, which are with the EFCC were also ordered transferred to the court.
Obla had argued that the court lacked the jurisdiction to allow them go home on bail after striking out the earlier charge against them. He said the trial judge had already become functus officio with the striking out of the criminal charge against the accused.
But Obla promised that he would prevail on the EFCC to grant them fresh administrative bail in the anti-graft agency office after their arrest, since their bail bonds were still intact. Justice Bello upheld his submission and discharged the accused persons.
The accused, who were all taken away by the EFCC are not likely to be tried by only one judge any longer. National Mirror gathered yesterday that their case files will be assigned to different judges of the Abuja Federal High Court.. Dr. Shuaibu, Mrs. Phina Ukamaka Chidi and other suspects are facing trial on a 134-count charge bordering on diversion of pension funds, abuse of office, using ghost pensioners to pay millions of naira into their personal accounts monthly and diversion of funds through award of fictitious contracts to companies which they manage.
Shuaibu is a former Director, Pension Administration in the Office of the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, while Ukamaka Chidi is a former Deputy Director (Finance and Accounts), in the pension office. Aliyu Bello was a Personal Assistant to Dr. Shuaibu. Other accused persons are Garba Abdullahi Tahir, Emmanuel Olanipekun, Abdullahi Omeiza, Computer Plaza and Essential Gadget Ventures.
