Jonathan’s aide stands surety for subsidy fraud suspect

Special Assistant to President Goodluck Jonathan on
Intergovernmental Affairs, Mrs. Mariam Ali, has
volunteered to be the bail surety for one of the
suspects of fuel subsidy fraud, Christian Taylor.
Taylor was on July 26 arraigned along with Mahman
Ali, who is son of Mariam and a former Chairman of
the Peoples Democratic Party, Ahmadu Ali.
Counsel for Taylor, Mr. Kolade Obafemi, said Mariam
had "prepared" to be the surety for the accused.
Taylor, who his lawyer said was a Sierra Leonean,
was on July 26 arraigned before the court and
granted bail on the condition that one of his sureties
must be his blood relation who was resident in Lagos.
But the defence urged the court to vary the condition
on the grounds that it would be difficult for him to
secure a blood relation that was resident in Lagos as
his surety.
Obafemi urged the court to accept Mariam, being "a
responsible Nigerian instead of Taylor's blood
relation", as the surety.
"The proposed surety, Dr. Mariam Ali is a responsible
Nigerian. She is the Special Assistant to the President
on Intergovernmental Affairs," he said.
The judge, Justice Adeniyi Onigbanjo, however,
despite opposition to the application for bail
condition variation, accepted the defendant's
proposition of Mariam as a surety.
EFCC counsel, Mr. Rotimi Jacobs, had opposed the
proposition on the grounds that Mariam had not
made any deposition before the court and that the
accused was trying to misrepresent the fact of his
nationality.
He alleged that Taylor had in a written statement
claimed to have hailed from Okpe Local Giverment
Area of Edo State and that he had stated in his asset
declaration form that his father, too, was from the
state.
The judge, however overruled Jacobs, saying, "the
essence of granting the bail was to ensure that the
accused attended trial."
Taylor and Ali along with their company, Nasaman Oil
Services were arraigned on July 26 before Onigbanjo
on three counts among which was fraudulent
collection of about N2.23bn from the Federal
Government in the name of subsidy for importing
various litres of PMS.
Date for commencement of trial had been fixed for
October 30.
Meanwhile, Abdulahi, son of Ibadan-based politician,
Arisekola Alao, was again on Wednesday granted bail
by Justice Habeeb Abiru of a Lagos High Court, Ikeja
in a charge involving fraud in subsidy payments.
This came even as the EFCC also arraigned Walter
Wagbastoma, Adaoha Ugo-Ngadi, Fakuade Babafemi,
Ezekiel Ejidele, along with Ontario Oil & Gas Nigeria
Limited before the same court for similar offences.
They were granted bail, shortly after the accused
pleaded not guilty to all the nine counts contained in
their charge.
The counts include obtaining about N1.6bn from the
Federal Government under false pretence by
purporting the money to be payment for subsidy on
certain litres of fuel which they allegedly failed to
supply.
Abiru granted bail to Alao, who was on July 26,
arraigned along with his company, Axenergy Limited,
on seven counts of obtaining about N1.5bn from the
Federal Government purportedly as subsidy payment
for certain litres of Premium Motor Spirit.
Alao faces separate charge along with Mahmud
Tukur, son of the incumbent national chairman of the
ruling Peoples Democratic Party, Bamanga Tukur,
Alex Ochonogo and Eterna Oil and Gas Limited,
before Onigbanjo.
They were all granted bail on July 26 after their
arraignment.
Their trial will commence on October 24.