A witness in the N109.5 billion fraud trial involving former Accountant-General of the Federation, Ahmed Idris, on Wednesday told the Federal Capital Territory High Court in Abuja that she signed a statement authored by the former government official while he was in the custody of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) after being assured that he would be released.
The witness, Hajiya Safiya Idris, gave the testimony before Justice Yusuf Halilu during the ongoing trial-within-trial initiated to determine whether statements made by Ahmed Idris to EFCC investigators were voluntarily obtained.
Safiya, who said she had a longstanding relationship with the former Accountant-General and regarded him as a father, recalled visiting the EFCC headquarters in Abuja in June 2022 after learning that he was being detained by the anti-graft agency.
She told the court that upon arriving at the commission's office, she was informed that Idris was not in the detention facility. After waiting for several hours, she was eventually granted access to the office where he was being held.
According to the witness, two EFCC officials identified as Hayatu and Mahmud asked her to sign as a witness to a statement written by the former Accountant-General.
When shown the document in court, she acknowledged that both the handwriting and signature on the statement were hers.
Safiya, however, maintained that she signed the document because she had been told Idris would be released.
She further told the court that the statement had already been completed before she entered the room and that she merely signed it after it was written.
During cross-examination by prosecution counsel, Oluwaleke Atolagbe, the witness admitted that she was never invited by the EFCC and was not under investigation at any time.
She also confirmed that she went to the commission voluntarily and that Idris was unaware of her presence at the EFCC until she was invited into the office where he was.
The prosecution drew her attention to a section of the statement indicating that it was written in her presence. Asked whether that portion had been written before she entered the room, the witness said she could not say when it was inserted into the document.
She also acknowledged that her name did not appear on any of the other statements made by the former Accountant-General because she was not present when those statements were taken.
Although she admitted she never lodged a complaint after signing the document and was under no obligation to write anything for the EFCC, she insisted that she was truthful when she stated that the statement was taken in her presence.
Following the conclusion of her testimony, Justice Halilu discharged the witness.
Defence counsel, Chris Uche (SAN), subsequently announced the closure of the defence case in the trial-within-trial, paving the way for final legal arguments.
The judge adjourned proceedings until October 13 for the adoption of final written addresses by both parties.
The trial-within-trial stems from objections raised by Idris' legal team, which argued that statements obtained from the former Accountant-General during EFCC investigations were secured through inducement and deception and should therefore not be admitted as evidence in the substantive case.
Ahmed Idris is being prosecuted alongside Geoffrey Olusegun Akindele, Mohammed Kudu Usman and Gezawa Commodity Market and Exchange Limited on a 14-count charge bordering on the alleged diversion and theft of N109.5 billion in public funds.
The EFCC alleges that the offences were committed between February and December 2021 and involve the diversion of government funds as well as the receipt of N15 billion in alleged gratification linked to payments of the 13 per cent derivation fund to oil-producing states.
The defendants have denied all allegations and pleaded not guilty.
With the defence having closed its case in the trial-within-trial, the court is expected to decide after final submissions whether the disputed statements will be admitted as evidence when the substantive fraud trial resumes.
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