Jude Onwuegbuzie, a justice of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) High Court, Apo, Abuja has granted bail to two senior government officials standing trial for allegedly misappropriating over N1.9 billion earmarked for federal road projects.
Dele Oyewale, EFCC’s Spokesman disclosed this in a statement on Friday.
Augustine Olowoniyan, a former Deputy Director at the Federal Ministry of Works and Housing, and Sulaiman Muhammed, a surveyor, were admitted to bail in the sum of N800 million each, with two sureties in like sum.
The sureties must be Abuja-based civil servants and must undertake to ensure the defendants appear in court for trial.
The EFCC is prosecuting the duo on a three-count charge of diversion and misappropriation of public funds between March 2019 and July 2020.
Prosecuting counsel M.K. Hussein opposed the bail application, urging the court to either deny bail or impose stringent conditions.
Read also: EFCC arraigns two women over illegal sale, mutilation of naira notes in Lagos
Onwuegbuzie also granted Olowoniyan a separate bail of N400 million in a different case involving an alleged N420 million fraud.
Both cases have been adjourned to May 15, 2025, for trial.
I’m a related development, Federal High Court sitting in Ikoyi, Lagos, has sentenced one Igboezue Emeka to one month in prison for failing to declare $40,000 at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport.
Justice A.O. Owoeye delivered the ruling on Friday after Emeka pleaded guilty to one count of money laundering brought against him by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
According to EFCC, Emeka was arrested on February 12, 2025, by officers of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) while attempting to board a Qatar Airways flight to Seoul, South Korea.
He had failed to declare the cash found hidden in one of his shoes inside his hand luggage.
According to EFCC operative Michael Olayemi, the agency received intelligence from the NCS that led to Emeka’s arrest.
“He initially denied carrying any cash but a search revealed the money concealed in his belongings,” Olayemi told the court.
The EFCC tendered Emeka’s voluntary statement and the seized cash as evidence.
The court admitted the exhibits and found him guilty.
Owoeye sentenced Emeka to one month imprisonment, effective from the day of his arrest, February 12, 2025.
