…Granted bail on self-recognition

By Ikechukwu Nnochiri &   Regina Otokpa

ABUJA – The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, yesterday, docked a former Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, Mallam Nasir el-Rufai, alongside two of his alleged accomplices, Hajiya Altine Jubrin and Malam Ismaila Iro, before an Abuja High Court sitting at Maitama, on an 8-count amended criminal charge bothering on fraud and gross abuse of public trust.

The former Minister is facing trial over allegations that he connived with his co-accused persons to fraudulently allocate several plots of land to his wives, family members and cronies whilst he held sway as the Minister of the FCT, between 2003  and 2007.

Whereas the 2nd accused person, Jubril, was said to have used her position as the then Director-General of the Abuja Geographic Information System, AGIS, to approve the illegal revocation and re-allocation of the lands from the original owners, the 3rd accused person, Iro, allegedly used his position as the General Manager of the same organisation to facilitate the transfer of the title deeds of the lands to all the allottees anointed by the ex-Minister.

The anti-graft agency had insisted that its investigations revealed that nine family members of the former minister got choice plots in the Asokoro, Wuse II, Maitama, Jabi, Kubwa, and Utako Districts of the FCT.

Meantime, the embattled ex-minister and his co-accused persons, tookb turns yesterday to enter plea of ‘not guilty’ to the entire 8-count amended criminal charge that was carefully read to them yesterday by the court clerk, and were subsequently granted bail by trial Justice Abubakar Sadiq Umar, on self recognition.