Court Grants Senator Shehu Sani N10m Bail, Barred From Traveling Abroad
Former Senator representing Kaduna Central in the National Assembly Shehu Sani has been granted bail in the sum of N10m by the Federal High Court in Abuja, Naijaparry reports.
Justice Inyang Ekwo granted Senator Sani bail on Monday in Abuja during his arraignment on two counts of bribery and advance fee fraud.
Senator Sani, however, pleaded not guilty to the charges preferred against him by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
Justice Ekwo, however, dismissed EFCC’s opposition to Sani’s bail application in a ruling he delivered after hearing argument and counter-arguments canvassed by the defence and prosecution teams.
Granting him bail, Justice Ekwo ordered him to produce a responsible citizen with a landed asset worth the N10m bail sum as surety.
He also ordered the defendant to deposit his passport with the court’s registry and directed that he must not travel out of the country without express permission of the court.
The judge also directed the court’s registry to verify the assets and title documents to be tendered as a guarantee by the surety.
Justice Ekwo also ordered the court’s registry to notify in writing the Nigeria Immigration Services that the defendant’s passport was in its custody.
He then adjourned trial till February 24, 25 and 26.
This news medium recalls that t he EFCC had arrested Sani on December 31, 2019, for alleged extortion of $20,000 from the owner of ASD Motors.
He was alleged to have collected money from Sani Dauda, owner of ASD Motors, promising to pass it on to Ibrahim Magu, acting chairman of the anti-graft agency.
He also reportedly said he could assist Dauda in influencing the outcome of some cases using his connection with the chief justice of Nigeria and some other judges.
Some days after his arrest, operatives of the anti-agency searched his house in Maitama around 2pm and moved to the house at Wuse 2 around 3:30pm.