A former Ekiti State Governor, Mr. Ayo Fayose, and his ex-counterpart in Delta State,Chief James Ibori, are to spend the Christmas and New Year periods in prison custody.

Fayose is to stay in Ikoyi Prisons until January 10, 2008, while Ibori is to be remanded at the Kaduna Prisons till January 11, 2008.

Two separate Federal High Courts in Lagos and Kaduna gave the remand orders on Monday.

The former Ekiti State governor, who had been in the custody of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission since Friday, was arraigned before Justice Tijani Abubakar of the FHC in Lagos.

He was slammed with a 51-count charge bordering on diversion of funds and money laundering.

In the charge sheet, the EFCC claimed that Fayose diverted millions of naira belonging to the state to personal use.

He was alleged to have collaborated with Biological Concepts Nig. Ltd to divert a good portion of the N1. 4bn meant for the the state’s Integrated Poultry Project Scheme during his tenure as governor.

Biological Concepts acted as the consultant to the state government in the scheme.

The EFCC said although Biological Concepts was entrusted with the money for the project, Fayose “collaborated” with the company and made illegal deductions of over N800m from the fund.

According to the agency, the former governor also connived with another company, Avian Specialist Nigeria Ltd, to conceal the true origin of a series of money illegally diverted from the poultry project.

In addition, Fayose allegedly laundered $100, 000.00 and concealed the true origin of another £112, 200 through the two companies.

Other charges against him were that he converted N25m to build a personal house at Afao- Ekiti and N44..2m for another personal house in Ibadan, Oyo State.

The ex-governor was also said to have diverted N2.4m from the poultry fund to purchase a Mercedez Benz car for his mother.

The offences which were committed between April and September 2004 contravene Sections 14 (1) and 16 of the Money Laundering Provisions Act, 2004.

Shortly after the charges were read to him, Fayose, who entered the courtroom around 10. 15 am, pleaded ‘not guilty.’

An oral application for his bail made by lead counsel, Mr. Yusuf Alli (SAN), was, however, rejected by the judge.

Abubakar said, “I think it will be better if there is formal application before the court instead of this oral application. It will enable the court to see and assess all the facts in the case.

“But this is the first time I am seeing an accused preferring the prison custody to the EFCC’s custody. It used to be the other way round.”

He consequently ordered that Fayose should be remanded in the prison custody and adjourned the matter till January 10, 2008.

Alli had prayed the court to remand the former governor in the prison custody instead of the EFCC custody.

He argued that there would be difficulty in gaining access to Fayose if remanded in the EFCC’s custody.

This was initially opposed by an EFCC lawyer, Mr. Wahab Shittu.

Before the judge entered the courtroom, Fayose laughed loudly as he exchanged pleasantries with lawyers.

When a copy of the charges and proof of evidence were handed to him by one of the lawyers, he said, “All this big document against me? This to me looks more like a syllabus than a charge.”

The EFCC has, however, withdrawn its charge against the Managing Director of Biological Concepts, Mr. Gbenga James, and an aide to Fayose, Mr. Goke Olatunji.

The EFCC ‘s lawyer told the court that the commission wished to substitute the charge featuring James with the case against Fayose.

The court subsequently accepted the decision.

Similarly, in Kaduna, Justice Mohammed Shuaibu turned down an oral application on Monday to admit Ibori to bail.

Shuaibu, who had on Thursday rejected a similar request by Ibori’s lawyers, argued that the former governor did not present sufficient materials to enable him secure temporary freedom.

Shuaibu said, “Availability of the accused to stand trial has always been an important factor to be considered by the court.

“And it is my view that same is a statement of fact, which has ordinarily been made by a deposition in an affidavit, likewise of the requirement of a reliable surety.

“ In the unlikely event, the court is not disposed to grant a bail on a self-cognisance.

“ In the light of the above, and considering the circumstances surrounding this case, the accused/applicants have not placed sufficient materials with which the court will exercise its favourable discretion in granting them bail pending trial.

“The oral application for bail in respect of the first and second accused is hereby refused.

“And in the circumstance, an accelerated trial is hereby ordered.”

The judge made the pronouncement after reviewing the bail request by the lawyer to the accused, Mr. Joseph Daudu (SAN), and counter argument by the EFCC counsel, Mr. Rotimi Jacobs.

Before the bail application was rejected, the EFCC replaced the initial 103-count charge with 129 new offences.

Ibori was first arraigned on Thursday before the FHC in Kaduna on a 103-count charge of laundering over N9.1bn belonging to Delta State. He was arraigned alongside Ms. Udoamaka Okonkwo and three companies.

Daudu later told journalists that he would soon file a formal application for the former governor’s bail.

He described the judge’s ruling as “normal” since he (judge) reserved the discretion to either grant the application for bail or not.

Reacting to the refusal of the court to grant bail to the ex-governor, the Delta State Commissioner for Special Duties, Mr. Champion Kpategi, said there was more to the EFCC charges against Ibori.

Kpategi, however, expressed the confidence that Ibori would be vindicated at the end of the case.

He described the charges against the former governor as spurious.

The commissioner said, “God being on our side, we know he would be out of it some day.

“Our contention here in the case of Ibori is not an issue of theory. He’s a practical man and all you need to know whether Ibori performed or not is to visit Delta. There is no community or village that Ibori did not make an impact.

“We know it is beyond mere committing one crime of money laundering or the other. We don’t just want to believe that it is just crime of money laundering. For sure he will be vindicated.

“Even with all the charges against him, we know that they are all spurious accusations. You can see that the charges are all the same – money laundering. What they just want to achieve is to detain him and humiliate him.”

Ibori and Okoronko were brought to court by EFCC operatives at around 8.10am.

The ex-governor looked more relaxed and confident unlike on Thursday that he was first arraigned in court.

He wore a black suit and a white shirt with black shoes and brown tie