Proceedings in the trial of the suspended Accountant General of the Federation (AGF), Ahmed Idris, on the alleged N109 billion money laundering case were suspended on Wednesday.
Mr Idris together with three others – Godfrey Olusegun Akindele, Mohammed Usman and Gezawa Commodity Market and Exchange Limited – were tried in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) High Court
But the event on Wednesday could not continue because of the statement written by Mr. Idris to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) during the investigation.
The defendants were initially arraigned before O A. Adeyemi-Ajayi, but were re-arraigned last October before another judge, Halilu Yusuf.
The statement dated July 5, 2022, could not be found in the court records as well as in the EFCC and the defense team.
In the hearing which resumed on Wednesday, the EFCC lawyer, Oluwaleke Atolagbe, began the trial-in-trial of Mr. Idris, after the AGF who was issued with a denial voluntarily made several statements to the anti-corruption agency.
Mr. Idris insisted that the key statements proposed by the EFCC to be used against him in the corruption charges were made under duress.
Because of the allegations, the judge, Mr. Yusuf, ordered hearings to confirm the claims.
How to lose a statement stalled hearing
The EFCC has assigned one of its witnesses, Hayatudeen Suleiman, to cross-examine 13 statements taken from Mr. Idris.
But that day’s proceedings were halted when it was discovered that the statement dated July 5, 2022, did not exist.
The missing statement is said to be critical to the entire trial.
The problem is compounded when the anti-corruption agency cannot find the statement in its own case file.
Mr Idris’ lawyer, Chris Uche, told the court that the missing statement was not part of the prosecution statement given to him.
Mr. Uche, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), accused the EFCC of suppressing some documents, some of which may have been lost.
“We are fully prepared for this case to be dealt with extensively but unfortunately, the EFCC seems to be dragging us back by not putting our house in order.
“If it is a civil matter, I will ask for a cost of N5 million for the precious time wasted by the prosecution,” Mr. Uche said.
Subsequently, the EFCC lawyer, asked for an adjournment to enable him to search for the missing statement and serve it on the accused as required by law.
In response to the request, the judge adjourned the case until May 11 to continue the trial-within-a-trial.
The background
The anti-corruption agency re-charged the defendants on October 27, 2022, with a 13-count charge bordering on allegations of misappropriation of the sum of N109 billion.
Mr. Idris and his friends were charged for the first time on July 22, 2o22, before Mr. Ajayi, who was a vacation judge.
In one of the charges, the EFCC said between February and December 2021, Mr. Idris received from Mr. Akindele, a gratuity of N15.1 billion, the amount of which was a motive to accelerate the payment of 13 percent derivation to nine oil- producing states of the Federation, through the office of the Accountant General Federation.
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In addition, it said that N84.3 billion from the Federal Government account was embezzled by Mr. Idris and the second defendant (Mr. Akindele) between February and November 2021.
According to the charge, the alleged offense contravened Sections 155 and 315 of the Criminal Law Act Cap 532 of the Laws of the Federation of Nigeria 1990.
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