Alleged $350,000 fraud: Abidemi Rufai set for release on bail
The detained Abidemi Rufai, a former Special Adviser to Governor Dapo Abiodun of Ogun State who was arrested over alleged $350,000 coronavirus unemployment fraud in the United States of America (USA),may soon regain temporary freedom from detention.
Penpushing reports that, the suspect who is on the verge of being released from detention after getting a surety, would, however, be restricted to travel in New York City and Western Washington and would be monitored with electronic surveillance.
The suspect, a political aspirant in Nigeria was earlier denied bail on Wednesday after his brother, Alaba Rufai, who is listed in court records, was unable to place the $300,000 surety bond for his bail.
Penpushing further reports that, on Friday, a surety was, however, presented in court, as Judge Ramon Reyes of the Federal Magistrate ruled that a New York state resident and family friend of the suspect could post the bond.
The court declared that the surety will serve as the suspect custodian until his trial in federal court in Tacoma, and in view of this, a registered Nurse, Nekpen Soyemi, a Nigerian ,agreed with the court that she would guarantee the $300,000 bond and allow suspect to stay with her family.
Penpushing also reports that, as at the time of filing this report, the judge delayed the suspect release until Tuesday to give enough time to federal prosecutors to appeal the order, while in his response, Rufai’s lawyer, Michael Barrows, admitted that the conditions of his client bail “were appropriate to secure his future attendance in court.”
The spokesperson for the U.S. Attorney’s Office in the Western District of Washington, Emily Langlie, in her reaction was quoted saying that, justice requires that the suspect faces charges in the Western District of Washington, stressing that the government will take all necessary steps to ensure that occurs.
“In any instance where a defendant is being released to a surety and a residence, the government does its due diligence to ensure the residence and those monitoring the defendant are qualified for the task.”
Penpushing reports that, in different view over the bail, the Acting U.S. Attorney, Tessa Gorma, was quoted to have posited that the suspect presents an extreme risk of flight and “if he does escape to Nigeria, extradition will be extraordinarily difficult or impossible because of his ties to the Nigerian government.”
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