May 6, 2010
Chief Bode George, the jailed chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) was again denied bail today, this time by the Court of Appeal. In a unanimous decision, the court, led by Clara Bata Ogunbiyi, the presiding judge of the Lagos Division of the Court of Appeal accepted the arguments put forward by the lawyer to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Festus Keyamo, that nothing has changed since George was denied bail by a lower court to warrant his latest application.Saharareporters sources said George went back to the Court of Appeal with the bail application in view of the changes within the federal government, which he thought would favour him. One source said that he had calculated that with Goodluck Jonathan in the saddle and former president Olusegun Obasanjo's "extensive" influence over Jonathan, the higher court would become more sympathetic to his cause. It would be recalled that two weeks ago, Obasanjo asked chieftains of the People's Democratic Party to show greater sympathy to the fallen Lagos boy, and to visit him in prison.
Today, the Court of Appeal told George to remain in jail and advised him to stop "chasing shadows".
Only last week at the Lagos High Court, George also lost a libel case he had brought against three newspapers.
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