Yazid Bawa, an Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC)’s investigator, on Tuesday, said that his team did not enforce Ali Bello, a nephew of former Gov. Yahaya Bello of Kogi, to write in his extra-judicial statement that the property he purchased was on behalf of the ex-governor.
Bawa, who is the 2nd prosecution witness (PW-2) in the ongoing trial-within-trial, told Justice James Omotosho of the Federal High Court (FHC) in Abuja, while being cross-examined by Bello’s counsel, Abubakar Aliyu, SAN.
The anti-graft agency is prosecuting Ali Bello (1st defendant) and Daudu Sulaiman (2nd defendant) on alleged money laundering to the tune of N10 billion.
The charges relate to alleged unlawful activities during the tenure of ex-Gov. Bello, who is also facing two different charges bordering on alleged money laundering at the FHC and FCT High Court.
However, on Monday while Ahmed Abukakar, an investigator and the PW-17 in the main trial was being led in evidence by the EFCC’s lawyer, Rotimi Oyedepo, SAN, the defence counsel raised an objection to Oyedepo’s plan to tender the eight extra-judicial statements made by Bello and Sulaiman during investigation, as evidence in the case.
Bello’s lawyer, Abubakar Aliyu, SAN, and Olusegun Jolaawo, SAN, who is representing Sulaiman, had argued that their clients made the statements involuntarily.
While Aliyu argued that the six statements made by Bello, who is also the current Chief of Staff (CoS) to Kogi State government, were made under duress, Jolaawo submitted that Sulaiman was threatened to make the two statements the prosecution sought to tender.
The Kogi’s CoS was said to have made those statements on Nov. 29, 2022; Nov. 30, 2022; Dec. 1, 2022; Dec. 10, 2022; Dec. 11, 2022 and Dec. 12, 2022, respectively, while Sulaiman made the two statements on Nov. 30, 2022 and Dec. 1, 2022.
After taking the counsel’s arguments on Monday, Justice Omotosho ordered a trial-within-trial and directed Abubakar, who is PW-17, to give evidence as PW-1 in the trial-within-trial.
The PW-1 vehemently denied the allegations.
At the resumed hearing on Tuesday, the EFCC lawyer called two more witnesses; Yazid Bawa and Adamu Usman Yusuf, to give their testimonies.
While Bawa (PW-2) was a member of the team, Yusuf told the court that he led the team called Chairman’s Monitoring Unit in Lagos office that interrogated the defendants.
The witnesses, led in evidence by Oyedepo, also debunked the defendants’ allegations that they were coerced to make the statements.
They told the court that the statements were taken voluntarily, in the presence of the defendants’ lawyers, and without threats or inducements.
While Bawa, the PW-2, was being led in evidence by Oyedepo, the witness said: “I am an operative of EFCC. I investigate cases, I interview suspects, gather my evidence and come to court to give evidence.”
The witness, who said he is currently with Economic Governance and Crime Section of the commission in Lagos, said before then, he was with Chairman’s Monitoring Unit in Lagos Office.
Bawa, who denied threatening the defendants, also dismissed the allegations that he threatened to keep them in detention if they failed to write the statements in the manner prescribed by the team.
“During the course of our investigation, we interview suspects. What we do is that we don’t ask them questions but we put forward our findings to them and ask them to respond according,” he said
The PW-2 said he neither have power to detain nor release a suspect.
According to him, that power is not vested in me.
“We didn’t threaten the defendants. We only put forward our findings and asked them to respond to those findings,” he said.
Speaking on the six statements made by Bello, tagged “Exhibits TWT-A to A5,” the witness insisted that those statements were taken voluntarily.
“The defendants were cautioned. We put forward the cautionary words and read to them and made sure the defendants understood it.
“It is part of our tradition that we allowed the defendant with his lawyer. So all these statements were taken in the presence of his lawyer,” he said.
The witness also said that on Nov. 29, 2022, when Bello chronicled his biography in his statement without the presence of his lawyer that he was not forced to do so.
He said Bello was asked if he would like to proceed to write the statement without his lawyer and he agreed to do so.
According to him the Chairman’s Monitoring Unit is a well selected unit.
“We are carefully selected to ensure that there is no mistake in the work. So we don’t induce, we don’t threaten at all,” he responded.
Under cross-examination, Aliyu, who appeared for Bello, asked the witness if he knew that his client was arrested on Nov. 29, 2022, and he said: “I cannot remember.”
“However, if you look at the statement, you realised that he made his statement on 29th November, 2022?” the lawyer asked, and the witness responded in affirmative.
“Was he in custody then or you released him on bail?” he asked.
“He was in our custody,” the witness responded.
When the lawyer asked the witness that as at the time Bello made the statement of Nov. 29, 2022, there was no lawyer with him, the PW-2 responded in affirmative
The lawyer also asked the witness on questions relating to the duration of time his client took to write each of the six statements.
“Is it not true that you told the 1st defendant to say that the property he purchased was for Yahaya Bello or else he will rot in detention?” Aliyu asked and the witness simply said: ‘That is not true my lord.”
“Can you produce before my lord the court order that authorise you to detain him beyond the lawful time,” Aliyu asked.
“I don’t have the order,” the witness responded.
“You told the defendant he would rot here otherwise he did what you wanted?” the lawyer asked and the witness responded in the negative.
When Aliyu asked Bawa if there were video recordings of the interview sessions, the witness also responded in the negative.
Jolaawo, who appeared for Sulaiman, also cross-examined Bawa.
He asked Bawa to tell the court how the EFCC got Sulaiman involved in the case.
The witness said: “During the investigation that was assigned to my team, concerning the former governor of Kogi State, our investigation led to the 2nd defendant.”
When the lawyer asked the witness if Sulaiman was either invited or arrested, he said: “I cannot remember.”
He also said he could not remember when Sulaiman wrote the statement of Nov. 30, 2022, and that he could also not remember when he was released from custody.
“But did you remember that the 2nd defendant brought food for the 1st defendant and you now arrested him?” Jolaawo asked and the witness said: “I don’t t know.”
“You are wearing a smart wrist watch and you have smart phone?” he asked and the witness responded in affirmative.
And when the lawyer asked if these were used to record the interview sessions, Bawa responded in the negative.
The PW-2 said a lawyer, Z.E. Abbas, was always around when Sulaiman wrote the statements.
When the witness was asked if the team threatened Sulaiman with an electric chair, he said: “Neither myself nor Mr Adamu threatened the defendant with electric chair. In fact, I have never seen one.”
Adamu Yusuf, who is the head of the team in Lagos office, also gave his evidence and the defence lawyers cross-examined him as well.
Justice Omotosho then adjourned the matter until Feb. 18 for Bello and Sulaiman to open and close their defence in the trial-within-trial.