More
than two weeks after Goodluck Jonathan's cousin and his employee were
arrested and detained by the EFCC over a $40m pipeline job, the EFCC has
finally granted him bail.
Jonathan's cousin, Barr. Azibaola Robert
Barrister Azibaola Robert, a cousin of former President Jonathan
who was arrested by the Economic and Financial Crime Commission (EFCC)
in what was popularly adjudged to be a desperate partisan attempt by
the present administration to implicate and persecute the immediate past
president of Nigeria has been freed by the court.
A Federal Capital Territory High Court in Maitama, Abuja, on
Thursday ordered the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission to
immediately release Mr. Azibaola Robert, on bail.
Justice Olasunbo who ruled on an ex parte application filed by
Azibaola Robert's lawyer, Chief Chris Uche (SAN), held that the
applicant’s detention by the EFCC for over two weeks without being
charged to court was unconstitutional.
The judge further ruled that the bail granted the applicant was to
subsist pending his arraignment by EFCC before any court or the hearing
of his substantive suit.
The terms of Justice Olasunbo Goodluk's, ruling on Azibaola’s
ex-parte application are that the bail should be guaranteed by two
sureties and each of the sureties must be a serving or retired Director
in any of the Federal Government’s ministries or parastatal resident
within Abuja.
The applicant is also required to deposit his passport to the Chief Registrar of this court.
Azibaola Robert is a prominent entrepreneur from the Niger Delta
with vast business interests in the area of construction and
engineering. Two of his companies, Kakatar and Oneplus Holdings were
mentioned among 300 other companies and individuals spread across the
country by the presidential committee probing the contracts issued by
the Office of the National Security Officer during Jonathan’s
administration.
Azibaola's brother, who had earlier expressed fears over his
brother's well-being, maintain that Robert had not breached any laws and
his company, Mangroovtech, which is why now Kakatar CE Limited got all
its contracts through jcompetitive bidding and nothing more
He then urged the EFCC to respect the laws of Nigeria and grant his
brother immediate bail and release both him and the executive director
of the firm or charge them to court of competent jurisdiction.
He added that the constitution of Nigeria protects his brother and
Mr. Dakoru Atukpa, an executive director of his company, Oneplus
Holdings from arbitrary arrest and being kept incommunicado for weeks
without being charged to court or granted bail.
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