‘N109bn Fraud’: EFCC Deceived Me, Promised Soft Landing If I Implicated Finance Minister — Ex-AGF Tells Court
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has told the Federal Capital Territory High Court that the former Accountant General of the Federation, Ahmed Idris, voluntarily made statements in a fraud case instituted against him and three others prior to the commencement of the matter.
Idris and three others were arraigned and re-arraigned before the court in a case bordering on fraud to the tune of N109 billion.
EFCC had on July 22 arraigned Idris, Godfrey Olusegun Akindele, Mohammed Kudu Usman and Gezawa Commodity Market and Exchange Limited before the same court on 14 counts bordering on gratification, stealing and criminal breach of trust to the tune of N109,485,572,691.
The defendants had pleaded not guilty at the time while Justice Y. Halilu granted them bail.
At the resumption of proceedings on Thursday, the EFCC investigator, Hayatudeen Suleiman, denied obtaining some of the confessional statements of the defendants by force.
“The defendant came along with his legal representative in the person of Gbenga Adeyemi, who witnessed the statement from the beginning to the end and he also signed.
“We asked questions which he answered. The 1st defendant voluntarily made the statements and was also notified that it would be used in court for trial.
“The video was taken after investigation showed that the 1st, 2nd and 3rd defendants benefited from non-existent consultancy from the office of the Accountant General while the 1st defendant was in office as the AGF.
The witness added “The sharing formula of the money involved was what was being discussed in the video.
“The 2nd defendant was giving a breakdown of how the money was shared,” the witness said.
Meanwhile, the former AGF through his legal team led by Chris Uche, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, insisted that the EFCC deceived him in custody to make certain statements under duress.
He alleged that the anti-graft agency team promised him a soft landing if he implicated a former minister of finance and some governors.
After hearing the parties, the judge adjourned to March 20 for continuation of the hearing.
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