N40b loan: Go home and sin no more, court tells Bankole, Nafada

 An Abuja High today told a former Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon. Dimeji Bankole, and his then deputy, Alhaji. Usman Bayero Nafada, to go home and sin no more in respect of a case of N40 billion loan for which the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission filed a 17-count charge of conspiracy and criminal breach of trust against them.

 Justice Suleiman Belgore said both Bankole and Nafada did not contravene any known financial regulations to warrant their being tried.

 He said both men cannot be held liable in respect of the loan because it was the house of the whole that took the decisions for which they are being tried.

 The lead counsel of the EFCC, Festus Keyamo, had argued that the House should have sought permission from President Goodluck Jonathan before going ahead to take the loan.

  On the increase of the running cost of members of the House from N27 million per quarter to N42 million without recourse to the Revenue Mobilisation Allocation and Fiscal Commission, Belgore said: “The House of Representatives does not need approval from the President to increase its running cost and also source for loans from a bank, as it is an independent arm of government, which is not in the category of Ministries, Departments and Agencies, MDAs.

“The two accused persons did not move any money with the intention of dishonestly taking it. How can a borrowed money now somersault to a property that was dishonestly taken for personal use?

“Is the Revenue Mobilisation Allocation and Fiscal Commission the owner of the money as to make their consents relevant? How can it be relevant that money approved by members need to get the approval of RMAFC before it is disbursed?

“There is, therefore, no evidence that the accused persons moved the money or gave such orders for the movement of the money, as no evidence of taking of any property dishonestly has been established. The accused persons were not among the beneficiaries of the loans, if anything, their running costs were drastically reduced.”

The court also said that it could only establish that the house took a loan of N25 billion and not N40 billion as alleged by the EFCC.

Belgore, in the three-hour judgement, however, lambasted the lawmakers for their insensitivity to the plight of Nigerians by increasing their allowances so sharply.