Shehu Sani
A former member of the Senate representing Kaduna Central, Senator Shehu Sani, has left the custody of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
A source in the anti-graft agency confirmed this to Channels Television on Friday.
According to the source, Senator Sani was released by the EFCC on Thursday after he met the conditions of the bail granted to him by the Federal High Court in Abuja.
He was arrested in December for allegedly extorting $10,000 from a businessman, Sani Dauda, owner of ASD Motors who has a case pending with the anti-graft agency.
The commission had said Dauda, a popular car dealer in Kaduna, complained against the alleged activities of Senator Sani who he claimed collected the said sum on the grounds that he was very close to the acting EFCC chairman, Ibrahim Magu.
Four weeks after his arrest, the EFCC arraigned Senator Sani before Justice Inyang Ekwo on two counts bordering on bribery and advance fee fraud.
He, however, pleaded not guilty to the charges while his lawyer, A. Ibrahim, asked the trial judge to grant his client bail.
Ibrahim informed the court on Monday that bail was his client’s fundamental human right after he pleaded not guilty and with investigations concluded according to the EFCC.
Outlining other reasons why Senator Sani should be granted bail, he said the defendant had no record of jumping bail and was presumed innocent and needed to attend to his businesses and family while still appearing before the court.
The lead counsel to the EFCC, Abbah Muhammed, however, rejected the request to grant the defendant bail.
He stressed that the accused would interfere with the proceedings if the request was granted and urged the court to dismiss the bail application.
After listening to the arguments of the two lawyers, Justice Ekwo granted Senator Sani bail in the sum of N10 million and a surety that must be a responsible citizen with landed property within the court’s jurisdiction.
He also asked Senator Sani to deposit his international passport with the court and must not travel out of the country without the permission of the court.
The judge, thereafter, adjourned the case until February 24, 25, and 26 for accelerated trial.
