Accused N3bn Fraud: Court Grants Bail To Others, Including Gov. Bello’s Nephew

On Monday, a Federal High Court in Abuja accepted Mr. Ali Bello, the nephew of the governor of Kogi, Yahaya Bello, to a N500 million bail apiece in the case of an alleged N3 billion fraud.

According to a judgement by Justice Obiora Egwuatu, the defendants’ accusations are bailable.

The purpose of the bond, according to Judge Egwuatu, is to allow defendants who have been charged with an offense to appropriately prepare for their trial.

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) arraigned Bello, Abba Adauda, Yakubu Siyaka Adabenege, and Iyadai Sadat on an 18-count criminal charge on February 8, according to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN).

In his verdict on the motion, Justice Egwuatu said that although the decision to grant bail was at the court’s discretion, he was inclined to accept the defendants to bail.

As a result, the court granted them each a bail of N500 million with two sureties in the same amount.

The sureties, according to him, must live in Abuja, have a verifiable address, and hold landed property worth N500 million that is subject to the court’s jurisdiction.

The judge further stipulated that the original title papers for the subject property, together with proof of tax payments for the three years 2020–2022, must be filed with the court registrar.

In addition, the judge ruled that the defendants had to leave their international passports in the custody of the court and may only leave the country with the proper authorization from the court.

Judge then put the case on hold until the start of the trial on April 16.