Pension thief, Yusuf, slumps in court

Convicted pension thief, John Yahaya Yusuf, who is standing trial on an alleged false declaration of assets, on Monday slumped in the dock while his trial was in progress.
The accused is standing trial before an Abuja Federal High Court for failure to disclose his interest in a N250 million fixed deposit, which was fixed in the name of a company known as SY-A Global Services Limited, incorporated by him and solely owned by him and members of his immediate family at Zenith Bank International Plc.
Yusuf was also alleged to have a N10 million fixed deposit in an account his company maintains at First Bank of Nigeria Plc and another N29 million fixed through one Danjuma Mele, who is also scheduled to testify as a witness in the trial.
Soon as the court resumed, Yusuf’s counsel, Theodore Maiyaki, moved an application seeking bail for the recently convicted pension thief.
He told the court that the offence for which his client is standing trial is ordinarily bailable and that the court is empowered by the law to exercise discretion in granting bail to an accused person and urged that the discretion be exercised in his client’s favour.
The application was opposed by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission.
The commission’s lawyer, Rotimi Jacobs, SAN, invited the court to take into cognizance the recent conviction of the accused on the charge of criminal breach of trust, which clearly shows that Yusuf’s antecedent does not encourage the court to exercise its discretion in his favour.
Jacobs also pointed out that Yusuf did not deny his previous conviction on criminal breach of trust in the affidavit he filed in support of his application for bail and urged the court to consider the gravity of his present offence, which is felony, an offence punishable with imprisonment term of five years, as the proof of evidence filed alongside the charge, and to deny him bail.
He further told the court that it is in the interest and safety of the accused person to be kept in custody to prevent the possibility of being mobbed by some aggrieved members of the public who are seriously aggrieved about the seeming mildness of the sentence imposed on his upon his earlier conviction of criminal breach of trust.
The court, presided over by Justice Adamu Bello, after listening to both lawyers, decided that Yusuf’s trial should go on while a date should be fixed for ruling on his bail application.
This was unsuccessfully protested by Yusuf’s lawyer who suggested that the matter be adjourned for ruling on the bail application before the substantive trial commences.
The court insisted on going ahead with the trial.
Jacobs then called his first witness, a civil servant working with the anti graft agency in the Asset Forfeiture and Tax Investigation Unit, Mustapha Sani.
No sooner had the witness commenced his testimony than Yusuf, who had been standing in the dock, started shaking violently.
His lawyer pleaded with the court to allow the accused person to sit down, a request that was promptly granted by the court.
However, as the accused made to sit down on the seat inside the dock, he slumped forward across the wooden dock.
His lawyer and prison officials, who had brought him to court from Kuje Prison, rushed to him and assisted him to sit on the seat.
The court at this point said the accused was not fit to continue with the trial and adjourned the trial to April 22.
His lawyer requested that Yusuf be allowed access to his personal physician for urgent medical attention.
The court granted this request and so directed the prison authority.
Ruling on his bail application was then fixed for March 11.