 |
| Stephen Oronsaye |
The Economic and
Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on Monday arraigned Stephen Oronsaye, former
head of service, before Gabriel Kolawole, justice of the federal high court in Abuja.
Oronsaye who was
arraigned on a 24-count charge of stealing and obtaining by false pretense,
was arrested by the EFCC last Wednesday.
TheCable report continues:
He is accused of
awarding a contract worth N63 million to Innovative Solutions and Project
Limited, a company he allegedly chose without due process, for biometric data
capture.
According to the EFCC,
the contract served as a means by which three individuals and five companies
got more than N700 million.
Based on the charges, the
companies, which had no contract to participate in the biometric data capture
exercise but were paid, include Frederick Hamilton Global Services Limited,
which received about N119 million; Xangee Technologies, about N153 million;
Fatidek Venture at least N30 million, and Obanlado Enterprises, about N96
million.
Before Justice Kolawole
took the plea of the accused person, he warned against the peddling of rumours,
stating that Oronsaye was “officially” known to him.
“I abhor rumour
mongering. Oronsaye is known to me just as Ibrahim Lamorde of the EFCC is known
to me,” he said.
“I don’t know where he
lives and he doesn’t know where I live. If anyone feels I can’t be impartial in
this case, let them say so I can disqualify myself and return the file to the
chief justice.”
Aliyu Yusuf, counsel to
the EFCC, stated that his client was comfortable with the judge handling the
case.
Also, Kanu Agabi, counsel
to Oronsaye, who leads about 20 lawyers in the case, said he had no objection.
Yusuf, counsel to the
EFCC, prayed the court to remand Oronsaye and the second defendant, Osarenkhoe
Afe of Frederick Hamilton Global Services Limited to prison custody.
But Agabi argued that
the accused was presumed innocent before the law, and as such was entitled to
bail.
He further argued that
based on extant laws, a suspect should not spend more than 24 hours in
custody, hence the need for a speedy trial.
Also, counsel to
Frederick Hamilton Global Services, Oluwole Aladedoye, also argued in support
of the bail for the accused, stating that in the event that the court refused
them bail, they should be remanded in EFCC custody and not in prison.
However, counsel to the
EFCC opposed the arguments on the grounds that the counsels to the defendants
“cannot” make an oral application for bail since they had already tendered a
written application for the same.
He prayed the court to
give him time to respond to the written application, and asked that the accused
should be remanded in prison because the EFCC didn’t have enough facility to
accommodate suspects.
Oronsaye, alongside the
other accused, stood in the witness box for more than two hours, looking
sober and intermittently bowing his head.
Abdulrasheed Maina,
another person accused of participating in the alleged crime, is currently
at large.
Justice Kolawole ruled
that the accused persons should be released after the signing of an undertaking
by their counsels.
He adjourned to July 21
for hearing on the bail application while trial would commence on October 29.
No comments:
Post a Comment