The Federal High Court sitting in Abuja has rejected a fresh application by the Chairman of the defunct Pension Reform Task Team, Abdulrasheed Maina, for the review of the terms of the bail granted him in respect of his ongoing trial.
Maina is standing trial on a 12-count charge bordering on alleged money laundering to the tune of over N2 billion preferred against him by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
Justice Okon Abang, in his ruling, on Wednesday, dismissed Maina’s application seeking the review, for the second time, of the bail conditions granted him on November 26, 2019, by the court.
Maina, had been unable to meet the conditions of his bail.
He had earlier applied for a review of the bail terms and Justice Abang reduced, among others, the bail sum from N1bn to N500m.
He also reviewed the condition that Maina should produce two serving senators as sureties for the bail to one senator.
However, Maina filed a second application for further review of the condition that required him to produce a serving senator as surety.
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In his ruling on Wednesday, Justice Abang dismissed the application for lack of merit.
He held that Maina had failed to place before the court, “convincing reasons to show that there exist exceptional circumstances to warrant the variation of the conditions of the bail earlier varied.”
In the earlier review, Abang asked Maina to provide one serving senator with property worth N500m in either Asokoro, Maitama, Wuse II, Central Business District, or Katampe, Abuja.
He said the senator, who must provide the Certificate of Occupancy for the property, must not have pending criminal charges against him or her in any court in Nigeria.
Also, he said such a senator must accompany Maina to all the proceedings during his trial.
The senator is also expected to sign a register to be counter-signed by the registrar of the court before the commencement of proceedings and will leave the court only after the completion of the formality on every day of the proceedings.
