The Federal Government of Nigeria, Thursday, arraigned a federal civil servant, Mr. Ibrahim Tumsah, and his brother, Mr. Tijani Tumsah, before the Federal High Court in Abuja.
The duo were charged with the failure to declare their assets to the Chief Okoi Obono-Obla-led Special Presidential Investigation Panel on the Recovery of Public Property.
Ibrahim is the Director of Finance and Accounts in the Federal Ministry of Power, Works, and Housing, while his brother, Tijani, is a member of the Presidential Committee on North-East Initiative and a former Interim National Secretary of the All Progressives Congress.
The Federal Government had on January 18, 2018 filed a suit marked FHC/ABJ/CR/4/2018 containing two counts of failure by the defendants to declare their assets “without reasonable excuse and upon the notice to declare” them before the panel.
The two brothers pleaded not guilty to the two counts when read to them before Justice Nnamdi Dimgba of the Federal High Court in Abuja on Thursday.
The offences were said to be contrary to and punishable under Section 3(3)(1)(a) of the Recovery of Public Property (Special Provision) Act 2004.
Their lawyers, Abdul Mohammed (for Ibrahim) and Kehinde Ogunwumiju (SAN) (for Tijani), applied for their clients’ bail.
The prosecuting counsel, Mr. Festus Keyamo (SAN), did not oppose the bail application.
The judge subsequently granted bail to the two defendants by adopting the bail conditions agreed upon by the prosecution and the defence.
Part of the conditions was a bail sum of N20m, while the case has been adjourned till March 1 for the commencement of trial.
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