Nigeria: N6.5 Billion Aviation Contract - Abuja Court Grants Bail to Borishade, Iyayi

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Vanguard (Lagos)

11 October 2008
Posted to the web 11 October 2008

Ise-Oluwa Ige

Former Aviation Minister, Professor Babalola Borishade and three others standing trial before an Abuja High court for allegedly taking bribes and forging documents relating to a N6.5billion aviation contract were yesterday admitted to bail in the sum of N10million each.

They are also to produce two sureties each in like sum who must be confirmed to be resident in Abuja.

According to the high court judge, Justice Abubakar Umar. He also ordered that each of them must surrender his international passports to the court regisrar and must not travel out of the court's jurisdiction without its permission.

Besides Prof Aborishade, the three others who are to comply with the bail condtions are former Managing Director of NAMA, Roland Iyayi, the Head of Operations of Avsatel Communications Limited, Mr. George Eder who allegedly gave the bribe and one T A Dairo.

Dairo was the former Special Assistant to Prof Borishade.

It would be recalled that the foursome were all re-arrested by the anti-graft agency and

brought to court Thursday for arraignment after an Abuja Chief Magistrate Court handling the case, suo motu, handed off their trial on ground of lack of jurisdiction and transferred the case-file of the matter to a high court.

EFCC, it would be recalled, had obtained the permission of the Abuja high court, during vacation, to prefer charge against all the accused persons.

Justice Olasunbo Gooluck who permitted EFCC to prefer the charge against them had given two weeks ago as return date for the arraignment of the ex minister and the three others

But the arraignment of all the accused persons could not take place as scheduled following the delay by the Chief Judge of the Abuja high court, Justice Lawal Gummi to re assign the case file to the matter.

In the charge read to the accused persons Thursday, Borishade and Iyayi were charged with the alleged offence of receiving of gratifications from the Head of Operations of Avsatel Communications

Limited Mr. Georg Eder.

According to the charge, Borishade who was charged as the first accused person, was said to have received gratification worth Euro 15,000.00 (Fifteen Thousand Euros) from Eder (the 4th accused person) in the form of hotel accommodation, souvenirs on account of favour shown to Avsatel Communications Limited while awarding the contract for the Safe Tower Project.

Count 8 which accused Iyayi of a similar offence reads, "That you Roland Iyayi on or about 30th May 2006 in Abuja while being a public officer (ie Managing Director of NAMA did corruptly receive for yourself from Georg Eder of Avsatel Communications Limited gratification in the form of hotel accommodation and air tickets on account of favour shown to the said Avsatel Communications Limited by yourself in the exercise of your official functions in the N6.5 billion Safe Tower Project awarded to it by your ministry and thereby committed an offence contrary to section 8 (1) (a) of the Corrupt Practices and other Related Offences Act 2000."

Although the charge was filed by Mr. Chile Okoroma of the Legal and Prosecution Unit of the EFCC, the offences with which the suspects were charged were offences under the Independent Corrupt Practices and other related Offences Commission (ICPC).

Apart from the alleged receipt of gratifications, Borishade, Iyayi, Dairo and Eder were also charged with forgery.

They were accused of forging a document titled, "Urgent Need To Replace the Obsolete Equipment in the Control Towers of the Nation's Designated International Airports in Preparation for the ICAO Audit Scheduled for September, 2006" dated 25th October 2005.

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