N109bn scams: EFCC Using me to Bait Former Finance Minister, Others– Ex-AGF Alleges
The previous Accountant General of the Federation (AGF) Ahmed Idris, has actually implicated the Economic and Financial Crime Commission (EFCC) of fooling him into confessing to taking over N109 billion from public treasury.
The ex-AGF declared that the EFCC informed him they wished to utilize him to get at the a previous Minister of Finance and some state guvs.
Idris and his co-defendants are standing trial on 14 charges of taking and criminal breach of trust to the tune of N109.5 billion.
Idris was arraigned along with Godfrey Olusegun Akindele, Mohammed Kudu Usman, and a company– Gezawa Commodity Market and Exchange Limited.
The trial court Judge, Yusuf Halilu had at previous sitting bought a trial -within- trial following claims by the offender that his declaration were made under pressure.
A declaration stated to be composed by Idris and outdated May 16, 2022, was partially read out by the prosecution witness, Hayatudeen Ahmed, in court on Thursday.
In the stated declaration, the ex-AGF had actually mentioned that the EFCC guaranteed him that whatever details he provided would not be utilized versus him.
The prosecution witness checked out the declaration after being asked to do so while being cross-examined by Idris’ counsel, Chris Uche (SAN).
After checking out the declaration, the prosecution witness mentioned that such guarantees were not provided, and neither was the offender under pressure.
He stated, “There was no such guarantee. The declarations made by Idris on the 25th, 26th, and 31st of May 2022 which made on the 1st, 6th, 10th, 20th of June 2022, and 5 July 2022 were made voluntarily by the accuseds contrary to the claims that they were apparently made under pressure by the offenders.”
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Previously, when the hearing begun on Thursday, the counsel for the EFCC, Rotimi Jacobs (SAN), used to tender video proof which contained a tape-recorded interview of the very first to 3rd accuseds at the Commission’s Monitoring Unit Chairman’s workplace as an exhibition before the court.
The prosecution counsel informed the court that the video looked for to be tendered was to counter the claim by the accuseds that they were questioned in the lack of their attorney and without video recordings in accordance with the Administration Of Criminal Justice Act/Laws.
Counsel for Idris, nevertheless, challenged the admissibility of the video, keeping in mind that it was simply sent out to him a day before the hearing which he would require time to understand what was consisted of in the cd gadget sent out to him.
Other counsels aligned themselves with Uche’s submission. Justice Yusuf Halilu. overthrew their objections.
The judge stated, “Admissibility and worth are 2 various things. A file when confessed can likewise be worthless or otherwise. The offenders did not offer factors the video ought to not be confessed however grumbled about the time they were served. This video is thus confessed as proof.”
The witness then informed the court that there was no deceptiveness on the part of detectives while taking declarations from the previous AGF.
According to him, the video made after examination developed that the very first to 3rd accuseds taken advantage of non-existent consultancy from the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation.
Under cross evaluation by Uche, the witness stated attorneys of the 3 offenders were not present when detectives interviewed them on May 25, 2022.
He confessed that Idris made a few of his declarations to EFCC in the lack of his attorney, one Gbenga Adeyemi, while some were made in the existence of the legal representative.
After listening to the cross evaluation, Justice Halilu adjourned the trial to March 20, 2024.
The trial judge abandoned his preliminary order withdrawing the bail of Geoffrey Akindele, among the accuseds in the trial.
The offenders are dealing with 14 charges verging on diversion of public funds to the tune of N109.5 billion.