Mohammed Bello Adoke, a former minister of justice and attorney general of the federal government, was granted permission to go to the UAE on Friday so that he and his family can enjoy Christmas and New Year.
After his counsel, Kanu Agabi SAN, successfully argued and persuaded, Adoke—a Senior Advocate of Nigeria SAN—obtained the authorization.
The client’s lawyer, Agabi, who had previously served as both the AG and minister of justice, had asked the court to accept the request by citing sections 36 and 37 of the Nigerian constitution.
The prosecution presented evidence that Adoke’s trial on money laundering charges had prevented him from seeing his family in the United Arab Emirates.
In order to keep his physical and mental health in check, the former Minister of Justice must spend time with his family, the senior lawyer fervently argued.
Despite Adoke’s criminal trial, Agabi argued that, unless proven guilty, the law presumed his innocence.
Additionally, he argued that his client had been regularly attending the trial since being admitted to bail and had never acted in a way that would indicate a desire to skip bail.
Justice Inyang Eden Ekwo acknowledged in his decision that Adoke had been present throughout the trial and had not made any efforts to flee the justice system by jumping bail. He went on to say that he was convinced to accept the request.
After that, the judge gave the go-ahead for Adoke to use his passport, which had been held by the court registry, to fly to the United Arab Emirates.
The former AGF is required by Justice Ekwo to return to Nigeria no later than January 11, 2024, so that his trial on the charges against him can proceed.
Former AGF Aliyu Abubakar and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) are facing 14 counts of corruption in their prosecution.
According to the EFCC, Adoke was charged with violating Section 16 (2)(b) of the Money Laundering Prohibition Act 2011 (as amended) when he received a sum of money equal to N300 million from Aliyu in Abuja in August 2013.
In September 2013, Abubakar was also accused of collecting $4 million in cash from Faman Holdings Limited through Abdulhakeem Uthman Mustapha. The EFCC claimed that Adoke had paid the money into Abubakar’s Unity Bank Account No. 0020153263 in structured installments.
