The Kaduna Zonal Directorate of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, has brought Shehu Abdu and Isah Saidu before Justice A. Isiaka on charges of providing false information to the Commission.
According to a statement issued, the EFCC stated that the defendants, arraigned on Monday, June 2, 2025, are facing prosecution for misrepresenting themselves as acquaintances of Ji Zhou, a Chinese national arrested by the EFCC for illegal mining of solid minerals and economic sabotage.
‘’Abdu and Isah, while acting as sureties for Zhou’s EFCC administrative bail, claimed they knew him well and promised to produce him whenever required by the Commission, agreeing to forfeit a N10,000,000.00 (Ten Million Naira) bail bond if they failed to comply. The suspect was released to them based on these assurances. However, they failed to present the suspect when needed, admitting they did not know him and were hired by the suspect through his lawyer for N40,000 (Forty Thousand Naira) to act as his sureties.’’
The charge against Abdu states: “That you, SHEHU ABDU, on or about the 8th of May, 2023, in Kaduna, within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court gave false information to a public servant which made him to release one Ji Zhou on administrative bail, an act which he would not have done had the true state of facts were known to him and which information you knew was false and you thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 105(a) of the Kaduna State Penal Code Law, 2017 and punishable under Section 105 of the same Law.”
The charge against Saidu states: “That you, ISAH SAIDU, on or about the 10th of May, 2023, in Kaduna, within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court, gave false information to a public servant which made him to release one Ji Zhou on administrative bail, an act which he would not have done had the true state of facts were known to him and which information you knew was false and you thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 105(a) of the Kaduna State Penal Code Law, 2017 and punishable under Section 105 of the same Law.”
Both pleaded “not guilty” to the charges, after which the prosecution counsel, Y.J. Matiyak Esq, requested the court to set a trial date and remand the defendants in the Nigeria Correctional Centre, Kaduna, pending their trial.
Justice Isiaka adjourned the matter to June 16, 2025, for a ruling on their bail application and ordered that the defendants remain in custody at the Kaduna Correctional Centre.
A Gentle Reminder: Every obstacle is a stepping stone, every morning; a chance to go again, and those little steps take you closer to your dream.
Nnamdi Okoli
