Ahmed Idris, the former Accountant General of the Federation, has leveled serious accusations against the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), claiming that he was deceived into admitting to the allegations of N109 billion fraud against him.
In the ongoing trial where Idris and his co-defendants face 14 charges of stealing and criminal breach of trust totaling N109.5 billion, the ex-AGF asserted that the EFCC misled him by suggesting they wanted his cooperation to implicate the Minister of Finance and some governors.
During the cross-examination on Thursday, Idris' counsel, Chris Uche (SAN), presented a statement dated May 16, 2022, purportedly written by Idris. The statement, read out by the prosecution witness Hayatudeen Ahmed, revealed that the EFCC had assured Idris that any information he provided would not be used against him.
However, the prosecution witness denied such assurances, stating, "There was no such assurance. The statements made by Idris on the 25th, 26th, and 31st of May 2022 and that made on the 1st, 6th, 10th, 20th of June 2022, and 5 July 2022 were made willingly by the defendants contrary to the claims that they were allegedly made under duress by the defendants."
In a further development during Thursday's hearing, Rotimi Jacobs (SAN), counsel for the EFCC, applied to present video evidence containing a recorded interview of the first to third defendants at the Commission's Monitoring Unit Chairman’s office as an exhibit before the court.
As the trial unfolds, the accusations and counterarguments shed light on the complexities of the N109 billion fraud case, with both sides presenting their perspectives on the events leading up to the charges. Stay tuned for further updates on this developing legal saga.
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