4th December, 2020
By Wandoo Sombo/Abuja
The Federal High Court Abuja, on Friday, granted permission to a former Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, Mr Stephen Oronsaye, to travel abroad for medical treatment.
Oronsaye is being tried, alongside others, for allegedly using inflated biometrics enrolment contracts and other schemes to siphon money from accounts in which pensioners’ funds were kept.
Abdulrasheed Maina, the fugitive captured in Niger, is facing similar charges in other courts.
At the resumed trial on Friday, a lawyer form Oronsaye’s legal team, Mr Barth Ogar, said that he had an application from his client seeking the leave of the court to travel abroad for medical treatment.
The Prosecuting Counsel, Mr O. A. Atolagbe told the court that the prosecution did not usually oppose such applications.
He, however, prayed the court to make an order such that the defendant’s counsel would guarantee that he would return to face his trial.
Atolagbe said that this had become necessary because Oronsaye was admitted to bail based on self-recognisance and that the only thing the court had from him was his international passport which would now be released to him.
In his short ruling, Justice Inyang Ekwo granted Oronsaye leave to travel out of Nigeria for medical attention.
He said that the order was predicated on the medical report attached to the application.
The judge further ordered that Oronsaye’s international passport be released to him and that he must write an undertaking that he would return to Nigeria to face his trial.
Ekwo adjourned the matter till Dec. 14 to rule on a pending application.