Wednesday, June 4, 2025 - The Kaduna Zonal Directorate of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC has arraigned the duo of Shehu Abdu and Isah Saidu before Justice A.Isiaka for giving false information to the Commission.
In a statement released, the commission said the defendants
who were arraigned on Monday, June 2 2025, are being prosecuted for falsely
presenting themselves as friends to Ji Zhou, a Chinese, who was arrested by the
EFCC for illegal mining of solid minerals and economic sabotage.
‘’Abdu and
Isah while standing as sureties to Zhou for EFCC’s administrative bail, claimed
that he was well known to them and promised to produce him whenever he was
needed by the Commission and agreed to forfeit the sum of N10,000,000.00 (Ten
Million Naira) bail bond if they fail to do so. The suspect was released to
them based on the assurances. However, they failed to produce the suspect when
he was needed, disclosing that they didn’t know him, but were rented by the
suspect through his lawyer with the sum of N40,000 (Forty Thousand Naira) to
stand as his sureties.''
The charge against Abdu reads
“That
you, SHEHU ABDU, on or about the 8th of May, 2023, in Kaduna, within the
jurisdiction of this Honourable Court gave false information to a public
servant which made him to release one one Ji Zhou on administrative bail, an
act which he would not have done had the true state of facts were known to him
and which information you knew was false and you thereby committed an offence
contrary to Section 105(a) of the Kaduna State Penal Code Law, 2017 and
punishable under Section 105 of the same Law.”
The charge against Saidu reads
“That you,
ISAH SAIDU, on or about the10th of May, 2023, in Kaduna, within the
jurisdiction of this Honourable Court, gave false information to a public
servant which made him to release one one Ji Zhou on administrative bail, an
act which he would not have done had the true state of facts were known to him
and which information you knew was false and you thereby committed an offence
contrary to Section 105(a) of the Kaduna State Penal Code Law, 2017 and
punishable under Section 105 of the same Law.”
They pleaded “not guilty” to the charges, following which
prosecution counsel, Y.J Matiyak Esq urged the court for a trial date and for
the defendants to be remanded in the Nigeria Correctional Centre, Kaduna
pending their trial.
Justice Isiaka adjourned the case till June 16, 2025 for the
ruling on their bail application and ordered that the defendants be remanded in
Kaduna Correctional Centre.
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