Ndume Stands Surety For Maina
Ndume Stands Surety For Maina
The senator representing Borno south, Ali Ndume has agreed to stand as surety for Abdulrasheed Maina, former chairman of the Pension Reform Task Team (PRTT) in his ongoing alleged money laundering trial.
Counsel to Maina, Chief Joe Gadzama, SAN, informed the court that his client has fulfilled all the conditions for bail which includes getting a senator to stand as a surety for him.
Gadzama, however noted that one condition has not been fully complied with, which is why the defendant is seeking a variation of the bail terms which was previously varied.
“In a desperate move to get freedom and liberty, we filed an application before the court of appeal In Abuja,” he said.
“Finally, senator Ndume agreed to stand as a surety which made us withdraw the appeal by filing a notice of discontinuance.”
“The applicant has met all the conditions but only one, which is that the surety must have a certificate of occupancy”.
Gadzama further explained that in Federal Capital Territory (FCT), once a certificate of occupancy is issued in a person’s name by the Federal Capital Development Authority (FCDA) that the name cannot be changed even when another person acquires the property.
Responding to the submissions of the defence counsel, Farouk Abdulah, counsel to the prosecution urged the court to dismiss the application for further variation of the bail terms.
He submitted that a “power of attorney does not convey title”.
“In the case of the FCT, it is only the President that can allocate land to an individual. The minister of the FCT exercises the power on behalf of the president”.