By Ibrahim Hassan-Wuyo

A Federal High Court in Kaduna has granted bail to Mr. Jimi Lawal, a former Senior Advisor to ex-Governor Nasir El-Rufai of Kaduna State, and three others arraigned on charges of fraud and other related offenses.

The court stipulated that the defendants must provide two sureties, each with ₦50 million in like sum. The sureties are required to own landed property in Kaduna, with Certificates of Occupancy (CofO) verified by the court.

Additionally, the court ordered the defendants to deposit their international passports, national passports, green passports, and official passports, if any, with the Deputy Chief Registrar of the Federal High Court, Kaduna.

Mr. Jimi Lawal, along with three co-defendants—Lawal Adebisi (former Senior Special Adviser to El-Rufai), Umar Waziri (former Accountant General of Kaduna State), and Yusuf Inuwa (former aide)—were arraigned by the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) on allegations of diverting ₦64.8 million.

The charges also implicated Solar Life Nigeria Limited, the company allegedly used to facilitate the fraud, with Mr. Lawal purportedly being the sole signatory to the company’s bank account.

The ICPC alleged that the accused diverted the funds in three tranches: ₦10 million, ₦47.84 million, and ₦7.32 million.

Counsel for one of the defendants, Johnson Usman, SAN, provided details of the bail conditions:

“The four defendants have been arraigned, and we moved a motion for their bail, which the court granted. However, pending the perfection of their bail conditions, they are to remain in prison custody. We are optimistic this will be completed promptly, possibly by tomorrow.”

He added, “The defendants were asked to provide two sureties, each with ₦50 million in like sum. The sureties must own landed property in Kaduna, with their CofO verified by the court’s Registrar. Additionally, all passports must be deposited with the court.”

The case has been adjourned to March 26 and 27, 2025, for trial.