N19bn scam: Former Works Minister, Lawal, begs for bail

BY INNOCENT ANABA

ABUJA-Former Minister of Works, Dr Hassan Lawal, who is standing trial before a Federal High Court sitting in Abuja, has prayed the court to admit him to bail. Lawal is standing trial on laundering charges brought against him by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC. The court will on June 6 and 7 hear the bail application proper.
Lawal is facing two separate charges , alongside 15 others, for laundering over N19billion and two others for laundering about N42 million.

Trial judge in the matter, Bilikisu Bello-Aliyu, had refused Lawal’s earlier request for bail after he was arraigned on May 11 on the N19billion case.

Even though Lawal pleaded not guilty to the charges, he was not admitted to bail because there was no proof of evidence before the court yet, which the court had given the EFCC one week to furnish it with the proof of evidence, even though Lawal’s lawyer said the agency was yet to do so.

EFCC had opposed the application for bail, arguing that Lawal might jump bail. The commission had further argued that granting the accused bail might jeopardise the case, as some of the accused persons were still at large.

But Lawal’s counsel had argued that his client ought not to have been arrested without sufficient proof of the crime he allegedly committed.

 “Before you arrest a person, you must have conducted a thorough investigation and established a prima facie case. Section 36 (6) of the Constitution provides that before you arrest a person, you must tell him in the language he understands details of his offence at the point of arrest. This was not done to my client. Ordinarily, when this is not complied with, the court could quash the arrest and release the person,” Lawal’s counsel argued.

The charge preferred against Lawal read:   “That you, Lawal ‘m’, while being the Minister of Works of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Dr Adeogha Ademola ‘m’, Digital Toll Company Limited, Swedes Control Intertek Limited, Proman Vital Ventures Limited, PEB 04 Nigeria Limited, Lassa Limited, Odomac Nigeria Limited, Okala Yakubu ‘m’, and Thahal Paul ‘m’, sometimes between 2006 and 2009 in Abuja, within the jurisdiction of the Federal High Court, conspired among yourselves to defraud the Federal Government of the sum of N4,872,000,000.”

“That you Lawal, ‘M’, and Aisha Okuboye ‘F’ on  October 9, 2009, in Abuja, within the jurisdiction of the Federal High Court, did commit an offence to wit: transferred the sum of N15million, being proceeds of an illicit act and thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 14 of the Money Laundering (Prohibition) Act 2004  and also punishable under Section 14 (1) of the same Act.”