Court Grants Chinese, Nigerian Accused Of Importing Fake Tyres Into Nigeria N10m Bail
Justice Mojisola Olatoregun of the Federal High Court in Lagos yesterday granted two Chinese citizens, Taolung Shem and Xu Jimg Yao, and their Nigerian accomplice, Chinedu Madubuike, accused of allegedly importing sub-standard automobile tyres worth about N5bn into Nigeria bail in the sum of N10 million each.
The judge also asked the foreigners to deposit their passport and residence permit with the Chief Registrar of the court.
Shem, Yao and Madubuike were arraigned before the court alongside their companies, Sino Nigeria Limited, Nedeca International Limited on a five count charge of conspiracy, counterfeiting and illegal importation by the federal government.
While ruling on their separate bail applications on Tuesday, Justice Olatoregun held that the prosecution had failed to put forward convincing arguments before the court to convince her not to grant the accused persons bail.
The judge also held that having review the counter-affidavit filed by the prosecution in opposition to the bail applications, she is convinced that the alleged offence of the accused persons is bailable.
She therefore granted them bail in the sum of N10 million with two sureties in like sum.
On the sureties to be provided by the defendants, the court stated that the two sureties for each defendants must not be teacher, must resided within the jurisdiction of the court and also must show evidence of three years tax clearance.
The court also ordered the two companies charged alongside the accused persons to post a bond of N100 million.
She had adjourned the case till May 15 for commencement of trial.
In the four charges, the federal government accused the Chinese and their alleged accomplices of conspiring “among yourselves to import tyres, which did not meet the relevant Nigeria industrial standards.”
The accused persons were also alleged to have stuffed various sizes of tyres into one another, an act, the Federal Government said, constituted a danger to the Nigerian populace.
They were said to have committed the alleged offence sometime in the month of February 2017.
According to the prosecuting counsel, Yusuff Lawan the offence is contrary to and punishable under Section 26 (2)(b)(iii) of the Standards Organisation Act No. 14, 2015 Laws of the Federation of Nigeria 2004.
The accused persons, however, pleaded not guilty to the charge, when it was read and interpreted to the Chinese citizens by one Fred Guichu Zhong, from the Chinese High Commission in Nigeria.
Their Nigerian co-defendants equally pleaded not guilty to the charge.