COURT REMANDS EX NNPC GMD ANDREW YAKUBU IN KUJE PRISON

A Federal High Court in Abuja on Thursday remanded ‎ a former Group Managing Director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, Mr Andrew Yakubu, in Kuje Prison pending when the ruling on his bail application would be delivered on March 21.

Justice Ahmed Mohammed gave the order of remand shortly after the ex-NNPC boss was arraigned and his bail application argued on Thursday.

Yakubu, on Thursday, pleaded not guilty to the six charges preferred against him by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission on March 10.

The charges bordered on fraud and false declaration of assets against him.

The charges were all in relation to the money recovered from his house in Kaduna on February 3.

Operatives of the EFCC had stormed a building belonging to the former NNPC boss and recovered the sum of $9.7m and £74,000 stashed in a huge fireproof safe in a slum in Kaduna.

The sums of foreign currencies amounted to about N3bn.

Arguing his client’s bail application shortly after the arraignment, Mr Ahmed Raji (SAN), urged the court to grant bail to the former NNPC boss on either ‎self-recognisance.

But EFCC’s lead prosecuting counsel, Mr Ben Ikani, opposed the bail application.

The prosecutor, however, urged the judge to impose stringent conditions if the satisfied to grant bail to the defendant.