Court to Decide on Statements from Former Accountant General Idris in Fraud Case

The Federal Capital Territory (FCT) High Court in Maitama, Abuja, on Tuesday, reserved its ruling on whether to accept some statements made by former Accountant General of the Federation, Ahmed Idris. These statements were taken during investigations into the N109 billion corruption charges against him.

Judge Yusuf Halilu adjourned for ruling after both the prosecution and the defence made their closing arguments in a trial-within-trial. This trial was ordered nearly four years ago to check if the statements were made voluntarily.

Mr Idris, through his lawyer, Chris Uche, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), asked the court in Abuja not to accept the statements from the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC). He claimed the statements were obtained through inducement.

Mr Uche urged the trial judge to "reject the documents (statements) as well as video recordings" that came with them.

On the other hand, the EFCC's prosecution lawyer, Rotimi Jacob, also a SAN, argued that the statements were voluntary and taken in front of witnesses who testified in the trial-within-trial, which was initiated by Mr Idris' lawyer.

The prosecutor recalled two witnesses from the trial-within-trial who confirmed that the statements were "taken in my presence" and urged the judge to accept them as evidence.

There are 14 statements in question, taken on 13 different dates, and they have been part of the trial-within-trial that has lasted almost four years. This has caused a pause in the main trial itself.

The judge ordered the trial-within-trial in November 2022 and has paused the main trial until a decision is made on the admissibility of the contested statements.

The main trial started in 2022 when the EFCC charged Mr Idris alongside Geoffrey Olusegun Akindele, Mohammed Kudu Usman, and Gezawa Commodity Market and Exchange Limited. They faced 14 counts of stealing and fraudulent diversion of N109.5 billion in public funds.

Mr Idris served as Nigeria’s accountant general from June 2015 until his removal from office in May 2022. This was after the EFCC launched an investigation into the alleged diversion of public funds.

He and his co-defendants denied all charges during their arraignment. The EFCC was presenting its evidence when the court ordered the trial-within-trial on 22 November 2022. This was after Mr Idris' legal team claimed that the statements he made to the EFCC were obtained through deception and inducement.

The defence team said the statements were not voluntary and claimed that Mr Idris was misled regarding not being charged. The EFCC denied these claims. Both sides called witnesses to support their positions on the statements.

While presenting his closing arguments on Tuesday, prosecution lawyer Mr Jacob pointed out that Mr Idris' details, like "his name and address in the statements, shows that the statements were not dictated."

Mr Jacob also claimed there was nothing in Mr Idris' statement that suggested the EFCC had promised not to prosecute him. He argued that Mr Idris’ lawyers were taking advantage of Section 17 of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act and asked the judge to "accept the statements."

After hearing both sides, the judge reserved his ruling and promised to inform the parties about the date for it.

On 10 June 2022, the EFCC arrested Mr Idris in Kano, where he comes from, and brought him to Abuja for questioning. He was later charged with theft along with his co-defendants.

The EFCC later charged Mr Idris and his co-defendants with 14 counts, including the diversion of N109.5 billion. All of them pleaded not guilty.

On 22 November 2022, the judge ordered a trial-within-trial after Mr Idris, through his lawyer, challenged the admissibility of the statements made to EFCC investigators.

During this trial-within-trial, the prosecution called EFCC investigators who denied making any non-prosecution agreement with Mr Idris or forcing him to make statements.

On 26 June 2024, Abdulhamid Isa Muri, an EFCC official from the commission’s Kano office, testified as the prosecution’s third witness about the statement Mr Idris gave in June 2022.

The defence later called witnesses to support its challenge to the statements, including officials connected to the accountant general's office.

In April, a retired Director of Legal Services in the Office of the Accountant General of the Federation, Haruna Alabi, testified for Mr Idris. He said he signed a statement written on 17 May 2022 by Mr Idris while in EFCC custody.

"As our former boss, we wanted to show empathy," Mr Alabi told the court during cross-examination by the EFCC’s lawyer.

The EFCC accused Mr Idris of diverting up to N109 billion in public funds while he served as the accountant general. The charges also claimed he accepted N15 billion as a bribe from Olusegun Akindele to speed up payments to nine oil-producing states.

The EFCC also alleged that N84.39 million from the federal government’s account was converted by the first and second defendants between February and November 2021.

All the defendants pleaded not guilty to these charges.

In December 2022, the EFCC got a court order for an interim forfeiture of assets worth over $899,900, N304,490,160.95, and 15 properties in Kano and Abuja linked to the alleged crimes.

In December 2022, EFCC chairman, Ola Olukoyede, announced that the commission had recovered over N30 billion. It is unclear if this amount includes the multi-billion naira assets traced back to Mr Idris after his arrest.

The assets, mainly in Kano, his home state, are said to be worth billions, much more than his monthly salary as a public officer. One of the assets is the Gezawa Commodity Market in Kano State.

Another asset, Ultra-Modern Mall in Kano State, is valued at over N700 million. Pictures show the mall is built on a large piece of land.

While the main exterior work is done, construction is still ongoing inside, with facilities like elevators and escalators being installed.

In 2021, Mr Idris, while serving as the accountant general, launched Gezawa Commodity Market and Exchange Limited, which he admitted he owned.