An Abuja High Court on Monday granted bail to former Chairman of the Board of Directors of Skye Bank Plc, Tunde Ayeni, in a N200 million bond over an alleged N15.7 billion fraud case filed by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission.
Ayeni is facing a 17-count charge bordering on alleged fraud involving N15.6 billion. He pleaded not guilty to the charges.
Trial judge Justice Jude Onwuzuruike granted bail after hearing arguments from defence counsel Dele Adesina.
In his ruling, the judge said the primary purpose of bail was to ensure the defendant’s attendance during trial proceedings.
Justice Onwuzuruike held that the prosecution’s claim that Ayeni could influence the trial was speculative and insufficient grounds to deny bail.
He also reaffirmed the constitutional principle that an accused person is presumed innocent until proven guilty.
The court ordered Ayeni to provide two sureties in like sum.
According to the ruling, the sureties must be federal civil servants who will submit their national identity cards, letters of employment and evidence of property ownership valued at not less than N500 million.
The judge further directed that one of the sureties must provide an undertaking for a bank guarantee worth N15 billion.
Pending the fulfilment of the bail conditions, the court ordered correctional officials to grant Ayeni adequate access to his legal team.
At the previous hearing, Adesina urged the court to either deliver its ruling immediately or grant a shorter adjournment, arguing that Ayeni had already been granted administrative bail by the EFCC.
The senior advocate told the court that efforts to perfect the administrative bail were interrupted after the court issued a remand order.
He maintained that Ayeni remained entitled to the constitutional presumption of innocence.
Ayeni had earlier been prosecuted by the EFCC in 2019 alongside Timothy Oguntayo over similar allegations.
Both defendants pleaded not guilty at the time before reaching an out-of-court settlement later adopted by the court as judgment after approval by the Central Bank of Nigeria, bringing the earlier case to a close.
