On Wednesday, Mahmud Tukur, a detective from the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), denied giving former Accountant General of the Federation Ahmed Idris a soft landing if he implicated the immediate past Minister of Finance, Zainab Ahmed, and others, in his confessional confessions.
Tukur testified against the AGF in a 14-count accusation of fraud totaling N109,485,572,691.
In July 2022, Idris was charged by the EFCC in the Federal Capital Territory High Court, according to Nairametrics data.
He was arraigned alongside Godfrey Olusegun Akindele, Mohammed Kudu Usman, and Gezawa Commodity Market and Exchange Limited.
What transpired in court
Led in evidence by EFCC counsel, Oluwaleke Atolagbe, Tukur insisted that all the 13 statements involving Idris and his lawyers were voluntarily made.
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The detective said the ex-AGF was interviewed in the presence of his lawyers before filling out 11 statements at different times.
Tukur added that 2 out of the 13 confessional statements were volunteered willingly and that Idris decided to fill out the two documents on his own.
Tukur added,
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- “He (Idris) signed on the back of the page of the statement sheets, and it was witnessed by Barrister Haruna Isa. The statement of May 21, 2022, was written by Idris.
- “The statement of July 5, 2022, was made by the first defendant in the presence of Mr Gbenga Adeyemi. He was cautioned, and interviewed before he volunteered statements.”
Cross-Examination
Under cross-examination by Idris’ lawyer, Chris Uche SAN, Tukur maintained that EFCC has a standard procedure for getting a statement from a suspect.
- “My lord, he (Idris) requested that he wanted to come and volunteer his first statement, and at the management level, it was approved. At that time, he was serving as AGF. It was based on his request my lord,” Tukur added.
The witness, however, admitted that the EFCC did not send a letter of invitation to Idris at the initial stage of its investigation.
He explained that Idris requested to fill out his second confessional statement by himself.
The witness also admitted his signature as a detective was not on several statements.
- “Haruna Isa, the Director from the legal department of the OAGF, who you claimed accompanied Idris to write a statement, is he, Idris’ personal lawyer? Uche interrogated the detective.
- “I wouldn’t know,” the detective replied.
- Tukur was queried again about promising the ex-AGF soft-landing but he described the allegation as “absolute falsehood”.
After the witness was cross-examined, the judge adjourned to May 15 for trial within the trial.
What you should know
- The ex-AGF and two others are standing trial on charges bordering on gratification, stealing, and criminal breach of trust.
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He was specifically accused of using public funds to purchase properties across Nigeria, but he pleaded not guilty.
On Feb 1, 2024, the former AGF’s lawyer, Uche, alleged that the EFCC deceived his client to make indicting statements under duress. -
The allegation paused the main trial and paved the way for trial within the trial.
A trial within the trial is a situation where lawyers will prove if a statement was voluntarily obtained by the prosecution.