A Federal High Court in Abuja heard yesterday that Ali Bello, the Chief of Staff to Kogi State Governor Ahmed Ododo and one other were not subjected to any form of duress or threat while they made their statements to investigators.

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) is prosecuting Bello and his associate, Dauda Suleiman, for allegedly laundering about N10 billion, funds said to belong to Kogi State.

An official of the EFCC, Ahmed Abubakar, who testified as the first prosecution witness (PW1) in the trial-within-trial being conducted in the case, faulted claims by Bello and Suleiman that they were threatened and subjected to duress to make their statements.

The trial judge, Justice James Omotosho, ordered the conduct of the trial-within-trial after the defendants objected to the tendering of their eight statements, claiming that they were threatened and subjected to duress to compel them to make statements.

Bello’s lawyer, Abubakar Aliyu (SAN), claimed that the six statements his client wrote were not made voluntarily, while Suleiman’s lawyer, Olusegun Jolaawo (SAN), told the court that his client was threatened by investigators into making his two statements.

Bello made his statements on November 29 and 30, December 1, 10, 11 and 12 (all in 2022), while Sulaiman made his two statements on November 30 and December 1 (also in 2022).

Led in evidence by prosecuting lawyer, Rotimi Oyedepo (SAN), Abubakar (who is the 17th prosecution witness in the main trial) said a member of his team, Yazid Bawa, and the team leader, Adamu Yusuf, neither threatened nor induced them when the defendants made their statements.

Abubakar agreed that Bello was administered the cautionary words, which he endorsed before proceeding to voluntarily write the statements.

The witness, who read out the cautionary words in court, on Oyedepo’s instruction, said Bello voluntarily agreed to waive his right to have his lawyer around.

Asked if Bello was threatened, Abubakar said: “Yazid and Adamu did not threaten the defendant in my presence.”

The witness said Sulaiman’s claim that he was also threatened with being compelled to sit on an electric chair if he failed to make statements is untrue.

He added: “I am hearing this for the first time. We don’t have an electric chair in the EFCC’s office that can electrocute someone. And, no suspect has ever died of electrocution in the EFCC before.”

Abubakar told the court that Sulaiman’s lawyer, Z. E. Abbas, endorsed all the pages of the statement the defendant made.

He added that Abbas also used the words: “This statement was taken voluntarily in my presence,” in his endorsement.

After his evidence in chief, Aliyu and Jolaawo took turns to cross-examine the witness, following which Justice Omotosho adjourned further proceedings in the trial-within-trial till February 17.

Source; The Nation News