Ndume to withdraw as Maina’s surety

The Senator representing Borno South Senatorial District, Ali Ndume, has said he will direct his legal team to begin the process of terminating the surety bond he signed for former chairman of the defunct Pension Reform Task Force Team, Abdulrasheed Maina.

Ndume disclosed this in an interview he granted journalists on Saturday in Abuja.

Ndume, who doubles as the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Army, stood surety for Maina, prominent member of his constituency standing trial for money laundering at a Federal High Court sitting in Abuja.

Ndume took the decision to stand as surety for Maina because he satistified all bail conditions required by the court.

The judge had as part of the bail conditions, demanded among others, that Maina should produce a serving senator as his surety.

Things went awry when Maina jumped bail and his whereabouts became unknown even to his relatives.

The judge subsequently remanded Ndume in the Kuje Correctional Centre following his inability to produce Maina when the case came up for hearing.

A legal battle ensued and Ndume was left off the hook while Maina, the fugitive, was arrested in Niger Republic and extradited to Nigeria on Thursday.

He was subsequently remanded in Kuje prison by the FCT High Court on Friday.

With the decision by Ndume to sever surety bond with Maina, the Senator will be the second person to end an erstwhile intimate relationship with the former Chairman of PPRT.

Earlier today, Joe Kyari-Gadzama withdrew his services as lawyer to Maina.

Reacting to the development in the said interview, Ndume commended the Inspector General of Police. Mohammed Adamu, and other security personnel that were involved in the arrest and extradition of Maina.

Ndume said, “I commend the Nigeria Police Force for executing the bench warrant issued on Maina by the Federal High Court in Abuja.

“This has shown that the NPF is not a write-off.

“They are professionals under the able leadership of the Inspector General of Police, Mohammed Adamu.

“With the successful arrest, extradition and subsequent remand of Maina at the Kuje Correctional Centre, I will proceed to direct my legal team to begin the process of withdrawing my suretiship for Maina with immediate effect because his action has shown that he is not trustworthy.”

The Senator also thanked all Nigerians especially members of the National Assembly, the political class, family, and friends, who showed serious concern when the court moved against him following the disappearance of Maina, who subsequently jumped bail.