BLESSING OMALE, Abuja
A Federal High Court in Abuja has ordered the revocation of bail for Nicholas Mutu, a former lawmaker accused of embezzling N320 million in a money laundering case after he violated court-imposed travel restrictions.
Mutu, who served as Chairman of the House of Representatives Committee on the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) between 2014 and 2016, has been facing prosecution by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on 13 counts of money laundering.
The court had previously set strict bail conditions, including the surrender of his passports and a prohibition on traveling abroad without express court permission.
However, during Thursday’s proceedings, the court learned that Mutu had been traveling overseas with an undeclared passport, in violation of these conditions.
Prosecution counsel, Ekele Iheanacho, SAN, presented evidence from the Nigerian Immigration Service indicating that Mutu had been using a passport that was not among the three he had surrendered to the EFCC.
Giwa Ogunbanjo (Justice), expressed her displeasure over the breach, calling it a clear contempt of court.
“There is no justification for the defendant to flout the order of this honorable court. He has left the country without permission or even notification. This will not be swept under the carpet,” she stated.
Mutu’s unauthorized travel came to light after months of confusion over the whereabouts of his passports.
The court had previously struggled to locate them, leading to delays in the trial. On Wednesday, November 20, 2024, the passports were finally found in the court’s registry, prompting an apology from the judge.
“I must apologize to the prosecution. We have always thought that the passports were not in our custody,” Ogunbanjo said.
The court has now ordered that Mutu deposit all his passports with the court registrar and refrain from leaving the country until the matter is fully resolved.
The trial has been adjourned to February 17-18, 2025, following the submission of an affidavit by the defense for further review by the prosecution.
For a better society
Follow us across our platforms:
Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/championnewsonline/
Facebook – https://web.facebook.com/championnewsonline
LinkedIn – https://www.linkedin.com/company/champion-newspapers-limited/
https://x.com/championnewsng/
You can also like and comment on our YouTube videos.
https://youtu.be/QIBfD1tT80w?si=R4Qf3so2LxYu3GC2
