Written by Abubakar Yakubu & Rakiya.AMuhammad, Jos
Monday, 30 July 2007

cooling their heels at Abuja’s Kuje Prison, Daily Trust learnt yesterday. Former governors Ibrahim Saminu Turaki of Jigawa, Orji Uzor Kalu of Abia, Jolly Nyame of Taraba and Chief Joshua Dariye of Plateau were all being held in the prison following their arraignment by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission [EFCC] over various charges of fraud, theft and money laundering. Though they secured bail late last week, they were still in prison at the weekend, trying to meet the stiff bail conditions.

A source inside the prison said the VIP inmates are very popular with the prison staff

and inmates because for the first time in years, the prison’s standby power generator is running, thanks to diesel supplied by Alhaji Saminu Turaki.

A source also said many high profile visitors, including former vice-president Dr. Alex Ekwueme, Governor T.O. Orji of Abia State and Alhaji Sule Yahaya Hamma, were at the prison to visit the VIP inmates. Another source said he saw former military ruler General Ibrahim Babangida sneak into the jail house to see his friend Dr. Kalu.

Last Saturday, Alhaji Ibrahim Saminu Turaki was seen observing a special prayer close to the prison’s mosque. He had spread a large mat beside the mosque and he did several raka’ats, even though the time was 11.25am, outside the time of the regular Muslim daily prayers. A large pillow was placed at the end of the mat, while several bottles of Swan water were placed by the side of the mat. A prison warder told our reporter that Alhaji Saminu spends most of his time in prayer.

Soon after he finished praying, Turaki was led into the prison’s waiting room by an official of the State Security Services (SSS) to receive his visitors. The visitors, most of whom were women, believed to be his relatives, spent time discussing with the ex-governor. The former Jigawa governor looked pale in a white native dress, while the former Abia State governor was cheerful in a black tee-shirt on a blue jeans trouser. He was seen waving to other inmates who greeted him from inside their cells.

Kalu was not lucky to have a chair, and he stood to receive his visitors. He was seen resting his back and foot on the wall as he chatted away with his guests in the prison’s front office. Ex-governor of Plateau State Chief Joshua Chibi Dariye sat on a bench to attend to his visitors that consisted of a lady and three men.

Another ex-governor seen by our reporters at Kuje Prison on Saturday was Reverend Jolly Nyame of Taraba State, who had been granted bail last Thursday. He met with a senator and a former minister of commerce inside the prison’s waiting room. Before seeing the ex-governor, the former minister, Idris Waziri, who led a delegation of three persons, had to go through the process of writing an application to the officer in-charge of the Kuje Maximum Security Prisons at the first post. After waiting for almost an hour, he was allowed to see an SSS official stationed near the prison’s main entrance, who inquired about the ex-minister’s identity and mission. After listening to his explanation, he told Waziri that Nyame was yet to come out, and he told them to go back to the first post to wait. "Leave here, go back and wait for me," the official comman-ded. The SSS official also said that his boss inside the prisons would have to scru-tinize the list of the ex-gover-nors’ visitors before any one can see them. Alhaji Idris Waziri was later called by the SSS and was allowed to see Nyame.

An inmate told our reporter that the ex-governors do not eat or drink water from the prisons. Our reporter observed a man carrying food meant for Nyame into the prison. A warder in the front office asked the man to place the cooler of food on the ground close to his table until it was properly checked by an SSS official. An official said upon their arrival at the prison, the ex-governors applied to be allowed to bring in food and water from outside, and their request was granted. The persons bringing in their food are made to taste it first before the meal is observed by SSS officials and later passed over to the ex-governors.

Daily Trust also learnt that when the former governors were brought into prison, they were first briefed by the officer in charge of Kuje prisons before they were taken to the ‘Sarkin Gida’ (the self-appointed head of the "prisoners’ government") to pay homage. All of them were made to pay some money to the leader of the prisoners. They are kept in a self contained cubicle of 6x10 feet with a double bunk bed and toilet. The ex-governors were also assigned a prisoner each to assist them in their domestic work. This is believed to include the job of "slopping out" their toilet. An inmate told our reporter that one of the ex-governors replaced the tyre of the prison’s van, otherwise his colleagues and himself would have been conveyed to the court in a Black Maria. The source also disclosed that the governors fuel the van anytime they are to appear in court. Kalu bought a table tennis board in order to while away the time, an inmate said.

Daily Trust also learnt that detained former governors of Abia and Jigawa states who were granted bail by a Federal High Court in Abuja Friday were yet to be released as at yesterday because both men had not fulfilled their bail conditions. The two former governors were granted bail on Friday in the sum of N100m bank bond with sureties in like sum who must have landed property in Abuja.

Mr. Rickey Tarfa, lawyer to Saminu Turaki told Daily Trust that his client was yet to fulfil the bail conditions. Mr. Tarfa said the former governor is still in detention but added that the bail conditions may be fulfilled by Tuesday. He said, "It was just Friday afternoon that he was released on bail with such conditions. So it takes time to confirm your tax certificate and also get a traditional ruler to stand for you. He is yet to be released. This is normal, you have to fulfil the condi-tions before you are released. So we are still working on it."

A source close to the former Abia state governor, Orji Uzor Kalu also told Daily Trust that his boss was yet to fulfil the bail conditions. The presiding Judge Binta Murtala Nyako also barred Kalu from travelling out of the country without the leave of the court while Saminu was ordered to surrender his certificate of return.

Former Chief of Staff to Chief Joshua Dariye, Chief Alexander Molwus has explained why Dariye is still in detention despite the fact that he has been granted bail. According to Molwus, EFCC charged Dariye to two different courts, adding that though one of the courts had granted him bail ,he had to remain in detention for the other case which comes up today (Monday). The first case was on the 700 miilion state funds allegedly stolen by the former governor, while the second case concerns alleged money laundering.

Chief Molwus said it was not true that Dariye was still being detained because he could not meet the bail terms, adding, "we have finished with the conditions".

Detained ex-governors Dr Orji Uzor Kalu, Alhaji Ibrahim Saminu Turaki, Reverend Jolly Nyame and Chief Joshua Dariye, have all been granted bail by various courts but they are still battling to satisfy their bail conditions. It is believed that some of the governors are having prob-lems finding traditional rulers to act as their sureties.