The Chairman, Senate Committee on Army, Ali Ndume, has said he agreed to stand as surety for a former chairman of the defunct Pension Reform Task Team, Abdulrasheed Maina, after six months of painful consideration.
Maina had on Tuesday, informed the Federal High Court in Abuja that the Borno South Senator had agreed to stand as surety for the bail granted him by the court.
The suspect, who is being prosecuted by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission on money laundering charges, said this through his lawyer, Joe-Kyari Gadzama (SAN), at the resumed hearing in his trial on Tuesday.
Ndume was not present at the Tuesday’s proceedings, but Maina who was produced in court by prison officials appeared on crutches.
Explaining the reasons he agreed to stand as surety for Maina in a statement on Wednesday, the former Senate Leader said it was part of the cross he had to carry as Maina’s elected senator.
Ndume said, he took the decision, to enable his constituent attend to his deplorable health condition, which according to him, required urgent medical attention. The statement read, “It took me over six months to agree to be his surety. First, the bail condition requires a serving Senator and I happened to be the one.
“Second, his health condition is deteriorating and needs special medical attention. “Third, his offence is bailable, and lastly, I am not saying the court should discharge and acquit him. If he is (found) guilty, he will be sentenced.
“It was a hard decision I had to make. I have a duty to represent the good, the bad and the ugly of Borno South. May Allah guide us to the right path. Amen.”
Zebra News had earlier reported that Maina was granted bail by the court on November 26, 2019, but had remained in detention due to his inability to meet the conditions imposed by the court.
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