A Magistrate Court in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) has granted bail to Senator Ademola Adeleke with a sum of two million naira after he was arraignment for alleged certificate forgery.
The Senator was also the governorship candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party in Osun State, in the election held last September.
The police charged him with five counts of certificate forgery. According to the charges, Adeleke presented forged certificates to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in 2017.
An election tribunal validated his election in a split ruling in March.
The allegation of certificate forgery had dogged the senator in the run-up to the election in the state, leading to his arrest before the poll.
Recently, Justice Othman Musa of the FCT High Court declared the Secondary School Certificate presented by Adeleke to INEC as fake.
A suit is pending in the high court seeking the declaration of his senatorial seat vacant although the senator has appealed the judgement.
After taking his plea, the defence lawyers asked for bail for their client.
The request was granted by the Magistrate, Muhammed Zubairu, who asked him to post a bond of N2 million with one surety in like sum.
He said the surety must be resident in Abuja and is expected to provide evidence of his source of livelihood.
The magistrate adjourned the matter till June 24 for hearing.
Adeleke left the premises of the court at 12: 22 p.m, after meeting the bail conditions.
He had been granted leave to travel abroad by a federal high Court presided by Inyang Ekwo on Monday on health grounds.
According to the order made by the Federal High Court, Mr Adeleke is expected to return by June 9 from his medical vacation.
Mr Adeleke is currently facing multiple trials following allegations related to his West African Examination Certificate.
The politician was first arrested in September 2018, a few days to the Osun governorship election in which he was the main opposition challenger.
He was accused of writing WAEC with muddled identity in order to strengthen his credentials for the governorship election that was then upcoming.
The senator denied the allegations of forgery when he was arraigned by the police, saying he had been a victim of vindictive politics of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).
Adeleke, a member of the Peoples Democratic Party, was defended by the principal of the school in which he was accused of committing the offence.
A statement from his office Monday night said the principal and WAEC swore to affidavits in his defence against the accusation of forgery or impersonation.
The PDP has condemned the recent arrest, describing it as an attempt by the ruling APC to further intimidate Adeleke.
