The former national chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and a defense minister under President Goodluck Jonathan’s administration, Haliru Bello was yesterday arraigned before a federal high court in Abuja on four charges of money laundering involving about N300 million which they allegedly collected from the office of the former national security adviser (NSA), Col. Sambo Dasuki (rtd).
Mr. Haliru Bello and his son are being prosecuted along with their firm, Bam Project and Properties Limited. They pleaded not guilty. Mr Haliru was docked on a wheel chair. Justice Ahmed Mohammed remanded Haliru Bello in the custody of the Inspector-General of Police since the former PDP chairman is still receiving treatment at an Abuja hospital, while his son was detained at Kuje Prison in Abuja.
The judge said, “The 1st defendant (Abba) is hereby remanded in Kuje Prison while the 3rd defendant (Haliru Bello), having been sworn by his affidavit to be on admission at Abuja Clinics, is hereby put under the supervision of the Inspector General of Police at Abuja Clinics pending the determination of their applications.”
Bello, who was in a wheelchair throughout the court proceedings, intermittently recited the Carbi, Muslim prayer beads, while his bail application and that of his son were being argued by their lawyers. Arguing anxiously for his client’s bail application, the Bello’s lawyer, Abdulazeez Ibrahim, urged the court to admit his client to bail on ‘self-recognition.’
He cited Sections 162 and 165 (1) of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act, 2015, and Sections 35 and 36 (5) (6) of the 1999 Constitution (as amended), and the court’s inherent jurisdiction.
Ibrahim drew the court’s attention to Bello’s precarious health condition as he was wheeled into the courtroom in the company of two nurses from the Abuja Clinics who provided support to Bello throughout the court session.
Bello’s lawyer further submitted that his client, who is over 70 years old, is not the sort of person who would jump bail, going by his antecedents as former defence minister and chairman of the former ‘biggest political party on the continent’ (PDP). He prayed the court to grant ex-PDP chairman bail on very liberal terms. Lawyer to Bello’s son, Abba, argued in similar vein and urged the court to grant his client bail.
In opposing the defendants’ bail applications, the prosecution lawyer, Aliyu M. Usuf, urged the court to decline the requests. Usuf told the court that he had filed a counter-affidavit to the bail applications dated and filed on Tuesday, January 2, 2016. Submitting that though the court had the discretion to either refuse or grant the applications, he, however, urged the court to exercise its discretion “judiciously and judicially.”
The prosecution further argued that the defendants had not placed sufficient materials before the court to warrant their bail. Countering the argument about Bello’s alleged deteriorating health condition, Usuf cited the case of M.K.O. Abiola and the federal government and said, “the applicant has to convince the court that the ailment which he is suffering cannot be treated while in prison custody.”
The prosecution urged the court to reject the bail application in view of the severity of the charges hanging over the applicant’s neck, adding that, if convicted, the accused person could get the maximum 14- year jail term. He also prayed the court give the matter accelerated hearing.
Subsequently, Justice Mohammed adjourned ruling on the bail application to tomorrow (today).
