Nigeria: N300 Million Scandal - Court Returns Passports to Iyabo Obasanjo, Grange
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Daily Champion (Lagos)
8 October 2008
Posted to the web 8 October 2008
Lagos
An Abuja High Court has ordered the release of the international passports of Senator Iyabo Obasanjo-Bello and Mrs. Adenike Grange, to enable them undertake international trips.
Justice Salisu Garba granted the order following the applications filed by their lawyers, Mr. Oluwole Aladedoye and Oladele Gbadeyan.
They were among the 12 accused in the N300 million unspent budget scam of the Ministry of Health.
Prof. Grange, the former Minister of Health and Iyabo, the Senate Committee Chairman on Health, deposited their passports to the court as a condition for their bail.
The lawyer to the former President's daughter told the court that the application was to enable his client travel abroad for a parliamentary conference in Dominican Republic.
According to Aladedoye, the conference, which would begin on Oct. 29, would end on Nov. 1.
Grange's lawyer, Gbadeyan, however, told the court that his client had filed the motion to enable her travel to America for medical attention.
Gbadeyan urged the court to grant his application on the ground that the prosecution counsel, Mr. Muktar Abdullahi, had not filed a counter affidavit to the motion.
Abdullahi, in his reaction to both motions, told the court that he was not objecting to the applications.
He, however, contended that the applicants disclose to the court the date they would return the passports after their trips.
Garba, who granted the release of the passports, also ordered Iyabo to return her passport to the court's custody on or before Nov 7.
The court also ordered Grange to return her passport to the court on or before Oct. 23.
The applicants were among the 12 accused arraigned before the court on April 8.
The others are Mr. Gabriel Aduku, Prof. Simon Ogandi, Dr H. B. Oyedepo, Hanafi Mohammed, Donald Ekanem, Donatus Inyang, J. A. Olomo , Obanla Olatunbosun, Henry Onyeagwalam and Edem Bassey.
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They had earlier pleaded not guilty to the 56-count charge against them and were granted bail by the court.
Read comments. Write your own.
Fellow Nigerians, the truth is that this administration is not realy serious about fighting corruption. Or is it that the corrupt politicians are always one step ahead of government. Or actualy that the government and the corrupt politicians are scamming Nigerians into beleiving that govt is fighting corruption when actualy nothing-deh-happen. The new style goes this way - Efcc holds a corrupt ex governor/minister or top gvt official (and the media and everybody is excited and shouts Farida is the top cop) , arraings them before a court while holding them in custody for a few days and Nigerians yelling… [Read Full Text]
But the Judge and the Prosecutor in this case have failed woefully to protect Nigeria interest. In the first place Iyabo has no business representing Nigeria while she is under the Umbrella on suspicion for a crime committed against the country. Second she is going to whatever country as a pretext to stash away her loot of course not in America because she is declared wanted for various violations and crimes.
I know that the Obasanjo's have a big mason in Sugar land TX. Nigerians are at alert watching for this disgraced first daughter. All the cases brought up by… [Read Full Text]
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The Judge is wrong. These individuals are crimianls and they must be traeted asuch. However, the problem of Nigeria is problem has been problem with incompetent judges. The Nigerian's elected officials are encouraging criminals by such acts.