A Federal High Court in Abuja denied a bail application filed by former Chief of Defense Staff Alex Badeh on Friday.
Justice John Tsoho did not grant bail due to a subsisting remand order by a Lagos Magistrate Court that could not be set aside.
It will be recalled that Mr. Badeh has been in the custody of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) since February 8 and is being charged with 10 counts of money laundering. The former Defense Chief is believed to have stolen N3.9bn from the Nigerian Air Force. Furthermore, Mr. Badeh and the company Iyalikam Nigeria Limited have been accused of spending a total of N3,974,362,732.94 on the acquisition, construction, renovation, and furnishing of various properties, including a shopping mall and mansion in Abuja.
Mr. Badeh’s defense counsel Samuel Zibiri requested that the court grant him bail on liberal terms until his arraignment by the EFCC. He argued that his client has been detained without trial for more than the period mandated by the constitution.
However, EFCC counsel Cosmos Ugwu counters that Mr. Badeh's current detention in Lagos is not related to his earlier detention in Abuja and that the Commission should be allowed to continue its investigation.
Mr. Badeh was scheduled to be arraigned before Justice Okon Abang in the Federal High Court of Abuja on Thursday, but it was postponed to March 7 due to the absence of the judge.