Joanna Yusuf
A counsel to Abdulrasheed Maina, a former chairman of the defunct Pension Reform Task Team (PRTT), Afam Osigwe said the bail conditions given by the Federal High Court in Abuja to his client could not be met.
Osigwe said his client would not be able to satisfy the bail conditions that Justice Okon Abang had granted him.
At the resumed trial on Monday, January 13, the lawyer said that while some lawmakers of the Senate have indicated interest to stand sureties for his client, the senators have said that they do not have properties in either Asokoro or Maitama as specified by the court.
Osigwe said: “To even conduct a search on an identified property, the Abuja Geographic Information Systems (AGIS), would not permit you to do so unless you produce the original titled document together with a letter of consent.”
“When you approach a person to be your surety and the person says I don’t have this property, I think it would be disrespectful to go behind investigating whether what the person has told you is true,” Osigwe said.
Having heard the submissions made by the defence counsel, Justice Abang said: “The court did not fix those conditions for fun. The court has reasons for imposing those conditions. So, if you want the court to vary it, convincingly, you have to establish the fact that the applicant is unable to comply with those conditions,”
The judge further adjourned the matter to Tuesday, January 14, for continued hearing of the bail application.
