Ex-Adamawa governor finally leaves prison on health grounds

Former Adamawa Governor, Bala Ngilari, who was granted bail on health grounds, after he appealed against his five years conviction over corruption charges, has been released from prison. Mr Peter Tenkwa, Controller of the Adamawa Command of the Nigeria Prison Service, confirmed Ngilari’s release on Wednesday in Yola. He, however, said that the former governor was released “without my knowledge”. A Yola High Court 1, presided over by Justice Nathan Musa, granted Ngilari bail on Monday, pending the hearing of his appeal. He had been jailed by a Yola High Court that found him guilty of ignoring due process in the procurement of 25 vehicles for N169 million His bail application was supported by a medical report, which indicated that he had serious medical issues and needed to travel abroad to seek special attention. Tenkwa said that he was waiting for the court order to enable him contact the legal department of the service for advice, when the Deputy Controller in charge of the Yola prison, Abubkar Abaka, told him that Ngilari had been released. “I called the officer in charge of Yola Prison to instruct him to await further instruction on Ngilari, only to be told that he had been released based on court warrant,” he said. Tenkwa said that some prison officials involved in the handling of the Ngilari issue, including the Deputy Controller in charge of the Yola Prison, had been replaced, while investigation into the whole saga was ongoing. He said that Mr John Bukar, a senior officer in the health department, was being detained pending investigation. Bukar signed the letter that identified Ngilari’s medical concerns to include high blood pressure, diabetics and insomnia. Meanwhile, the Chief Registrar of Adamawa High Court, Mr Danladi Mohammed, has confirmed that Ngilari fulfilled the bail conditions before he was released. “He was granted bail in the sum of N100 million with two sureties who have already submitted their Certificates of Occupancy. “The Registrar of High Court 1 has confirmed to me that the bail conditions were fulfilled. “For now, that is all I can tell you. If you want further details on the matter, you need to write a request to that effect,” Mohammed said. Ngilari served as Adamawa Governor from October 6, 2014 to May 29, 2015, following the removal of Ahmadu Fintiri, then Acting Governor, by an Abuja High Court.