Company chief gets bail in illegal financial operation suit

Trial to start May 9

THREE weeks after he was remanded in Ikoyi Prison by a Federal High Court in Lagos, a businessman and Chairman, AG Moeller Limited, Adeloye Richard Olukemi, was yesterday admitted to bail by the trial judge, Okechukwu Okeke.

The judge had on February 15, 2012, remanded Olukemi in prison after he pleaded “not guilty” to a five-count charge brought against him by the Federal Government, which borders on conspiracy and illegal transaction of about N14O million without a valid licence by the Central Bank of Nigeria.

He was arraigned with his company, AG Moeller Limited on March 29, 2007, for the alleged offence, which is punishable under Section 517 of the Criminal Code Act, Cap C38, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004.

At the resumed hearing of the matter yesterday, Okukemi’s counsel,

Kunle Ogunba (SAN), withdrew his earlier motion seeking for a stay of proceeding on the matter, as well as a motion seeking to quash the charge to pave way for the hearing on the application for bail.

Consequently, the judge had struck out the motions dated February 9, 2012 and urged Ogunba to proceed with the bail application.

Thereafter, Ogunba urged the court to admit the accused person to bail on liberal terms since the offence is bailable and the accused was a responsible member of the society who would attend his trial.

But the prosecuting counsel, Raphael Nkem, prayed the court to deny the accused person bail on grounds that he could jump bail since the offence, which he is being charged,

carried a heavy sentence on conviction without an option of fine.

In his ruling, Judge Okeke held that Section 30 of the Constitution stated that every person charged with any offence was presumed innocent until proven otherwise.

According to the judge, since the offence was a bailable one and the court should guide the liberty of the accused person and every citizen of the country but must hold the same between the accused and the state in such a way to ensure that the accused person attends trial.

He, therefore, admitted the accused person to bail in the sum of N10 million with a surety in like sum.

The surety, the judge said, must be owner of a property in Lekki, Ikoyi, Victoria Island and Ikeja GRA or in the alternative, a Lagos or federal civil servant not below grade 14, who is to depose to an affidavit of means, submit two passport photographs and tax clearance certificate.

He adjourned the matter till May 9, 2012, for trial.