Court grants convicted NIMASA ex-boss, Omatseye, bail pending appeal

Customs arraigns Chinese over alleged illegal exportation
The Federal High Court in Lagos, presided by Justice Rita Ofili-Ajumogobia, yesterday granted N500,000 bail to former Director-General of NIMASA, Mr. Raymond Omatseye, who was convicted on charges of contract scam.

Ofili-Ajumogobia, who had earlier convicted the former NIMASA boss on the charge of granting loans above official threshold, granted the convict bail pending the hearing and determination of the appeal he lodged against the decision at the Court of Appeal.

The judge, who is now on transfer to Kwara State, has to come to Lagos to hear the application for bail pending the appeal filed by Omatseye.

In her decision on the application, she ruled: “I have looked at the processes filed by appellant but I have a discretion which must be exercised judicially and judiciously.

“In the applicant’s affidavit, he deposed to the fact that his child suffers from a severe medical condition, which is an uncontrollable epilepsy seizure which has put the family under serious strain.

“I will admit the appellant to bail on the single ground of being a mother. Even a mad woman will come after you if you toil with her child.

“The applicant is hereby admitted to bail in the sum of N500,000 with two sureties each in like sum.

“One of the sureties must be a Grade Level 16 officer in the civil service who must deposit his international passport with the court’s registry.”

In another development, the Nigeria Customs Service Board (NCSB) yesterday arraigned a Chinese national, Zhu Jinxin, before the Federal High Court, Lagos, over an alleged unlawful exportation of logs of wood contrary to Section 64(1)(b) of the Customs and Excise Management Act, Cap C45 of Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004 and punishable under the same section of the Act”.

The suspect, who was arraigned before Justice Hadiza Shagari, pleaded not guilty to the charge.

After the plea of the accused person was taken by the court, the prosecutor, Ajakaye Iyiola, prayed the court for a trial date but the defence counsel, Abdumalik Ibrahim, told the court of a pending bail application before it.

After listening to both prosecution and defence counsel’s submissions, the trial judge consequently granted bail to the accused person in the sum of N10 million with two sureties, who must be civil servants and adjourned to October 4, 2016 for trial.

Justice Ofili-Ajumogobia had on May 20, 2016 sentenced Omatseye to a prison term of five years. She had found Omatseye guilty of 24 out of the 27 counts preferred against him by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).

She however, discharged and acquitted him of three out of the 27 counts bordering on bid rigging.

Ajumogobia found Omatseye guilty of the offence of awarding contracts above stipulated threshold, and accordingly convicted him on counts 1 to 20, 24, 25, 26 and 27.

She also discharged and acquitted him on counts 21, 22 and 23 of the charge.

In challenging the verdict, Omatseye had prayed the court to grant him bail pending the determination of his appeal lodged at the Court of Appeal, Lagos Division.