Nigeria's ex-Skye Bank chairman Tunde Ayeni gets $150,000 bail after 21 days in Kuje prison

The Federal Capital Territory High Court in Apo, Abuja, granted bail to former Skye Bank chairman Tunde Ayeni on Monday in the sum of N200 million ($150,000), ending a 21-day detention at Kuje Correctional Centre that began after his arraignment on May 4.

Justice Jude Onwuzuruike, who had scheduled the ruling for May 25 following arguments from both sides two weeks earlier, attached strict conditions to the bail. Ayeni must provide two sureties, each in the sum of N200 million. Both sureties must be federal civil servants and must submit their national identity cards and letters of employment to the court. Each surety must own landed property in Abuja valued at not less than N500 million. The court also directed that one of the sureties must provide an undertaking in the form of a bank guarantee worth N15 billion. Ayeni will remain in custody at Kuje pending the fulfilment of all bail conditions.

The ruling followed a bail application argued by Ayeni's lead counsel, Dele Adesina, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, supported by four other senior advocates. Adesina had argued that Ayeni was entitled to bail as a matter of constitutional right, that the offences were bailable, and that the EFCC had itself granted him administrative bail before the court's remand order was made at his first appearance. The EFCC opposed the application through its counsel G.I. Inde, who filed a 23-paragraph counter-affidavit arguing that Ayeni should remain in custody during trial.

Ayeni, 59, was arrested by the EFCC on April 23 in Abuja and arraigned on May 4 on a 17-count charge alleging criminal breach of trust, misappropriation and conversion of depositors' funds totaling N15,665,085,429. He pleaded not guilty to all counts. The charges allege a series of transfers from Skye Bank's suspense account to accounts linked to a network of companies between 2014 and 2016, including N3.2 billion to Misa Limited, N5.07 billion to Union Registrar Limited and N2.475 billion withdrawn directly in cash.

Ayeni had previously been arraigned in December 2018 on related charges alongside former Skye Bank managing director Timothy Oguntayo. Those charges were withdrawn in July 2022 following what court proceedings described as a settlement involving forfeitures. The current arraignment represents a new and separate case opened by the EFCC on the Skye Bank collapse, an institution taken over by the Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria and restructured into Polaris Bank.