- Safiu Kehinde
A Special Offences Court sitting in Ikeja, Lagos, has, on Tuesday, granted former Managing Director of the Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON), Ahmed Kuru, bail in the sum of N50m with two sureties.
Having pleaded not guilty of the alleged N20 billion fraud charge, against him, the presiding judge, Justice Rahman Oshodi, listened to his bail application.
The judge noted that the offence which carries a seven-year jail term was ordinarily bailable.
With no objections from the EFCC, the court, according to.report, declined to admit Kuru to bail on self-recognizance but admitted him to bail in the sum of N50m with 2 sureties who shall swear to an affidavit of means before the court.
The sureties are to be screened and produce evidence of payment of tax in the last three years as part of the bail requirements.
Also the court ordered the EFCC to notify the Nigeria Immigration Service of the seizure of Kuru’s passport by the registrar of the court
Pending the perfection if his bail conditions, the court temporarily released Ahmed Kuru to his lawyer Olasupo Shasore (SAN).
Prior to, Kuru’s bail application, the court convicted his co-defendant, Sigma Golf Nigeria Limited, and ordered the company to forfeit to the Federal Government, all rights, title and interest of the company in Six Billion, Two Hundred and Fifty Million (6,250,000,000) units of Keystone Bank Limited’s ordinary shares of 1.00 each.
Justice Rahman Oshodi reportedly handed down the judgment as part of the terms of a plea bargain agreement between the company and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) after the guilty plea of the company through its Chairman, Umaru Modibbo, after his arraignment in court on Tuesday.
While Kuru had please not guilty of the offense, Modibo pleaded guilty on behalf of Sigma Golf
Modibbo, who is also the Founder of Sigma Pensions Nigeria Ltd, was involved in the case following Sigma Golf arraignment by the EFCC before the judge on a six-count charge alongside the former AMCON boss for the offence of conspiracy, stealing and transfer of property derived from an illegal act.
According to the EFCC, AMCON funds to the tune of N20bn were converted through Heritage Bank to the use of a company, Sigma Golf Nigeria Ltd for the acquisition of Keystone Bank.
After the plea of both defendants, the EFCC through its lead prosecutor, Rotimi Oyedepo (SAN) then informed the court that it had reached a plea bargain agreement with the company.
Oyedepo asked the court to adopt the terms of the agreement as the judgment of the court.
The court, after convincing itself that the agreement was voluntary and done in the interest of justice, adopted it as its judgment.
Part of the judgment read:
“That upon the conviction of Sigma Golf Nigeria Ltd, all its rights, title and interest in the one (1) unit of the Keystone Bank Limited’s ordinary shares allotted to Alhaji Umaru Hamidu Modibbo, the current Chairman of the company, shall forthwith also be forfeited to the Federal Government of Nigeria represented by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
“That in respect of the facts and circumstances of the instant case, the Complainant, the Federal Republic of Nigeria, agrees not to pursue criminal charges both now and in the future against Alhaji Umaru Hamidu Modibbo.
“That Sigma Golf Nigeria Limited and its Chairman, Alhaji Umaru Haridu Modibbo, agree to fully cooperate with the Prosecution in any ongoing or future investigations related to this matter, including providing truthful testimony as required.”
Meanwhile, Justice Oshodi adjourned Kuru’s case till March 7th and April 16 & 17th for commencement of trial.