Court Accepts Kogi Chief of Staff's Statements as Evidence in N10bn Fraud Case

On Wednesday, the Federal High Court (FHC) in Abuja allowed the admission of six statements provided by Ali Bello, the Chief of Staff to Kogi State Governor Usman Ododo, in connection with an alleged money laundering case involving N10 billion.

Judge James Omotosho ruled in favor of admitting these statements alongside two additional extrajudicial statements from Bello’s co-defendant, Dauda Sulaiman.

The judge confirmed the admission of all eight statements as exhibits while overruling the objections put forth by both defendants against their submission by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).

Judge Omotosho noted that the EFCC adhered to the provisions of Sections 15 (4) and 17 (2) of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act (ACJA), 2015, in the procurement of the statements concerned.

Consequently, he declared that the statements made by both defendants were admissible in court as they were given voluntarily.

According to reports from the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), the EFCC is prosecuting Bello, who is the nephew of former Kogi State Governor Yahaya Bello, along with Sulaiman on multiple charges including misappropriation and money laundering, allegedly involving N10.27 billion of public funds.

These actions are claimed to have occurred during the tenure of the former governor, who is also facing legal challenges in two separate corruption cases presently before the Federal High Court in Abuja and the FCT High Court. The EFCC has accused the ex-governor of diverting N80.2 billion and N110 billion of Kogi State funds in these ongoing cases.

Ali Bello, serving as Chief of Staff to the current governor, Mr. Ododo, is also embroiled in another money laundering allegation regarding the misappropriation of N3 billion, connected to activities during former Governor Bello’s administration.

During the proceedings concerning the N10.27 billion case, both Bello and Sulaiman contended that the extra-judicial statements being presented by the EFCC were acquired under duress.

The statements attributed to Bello were recorded on the following dates: November 29, 2022; November 30, 2022; December 1, 2022; December 10, 2022; December 11, 2022; and December 12, 2022. Sulaiman’s statements were dated November 30, 2022, and December 1, 2022.

On February 16, defense attorneys Abubakar Aliyu and Olusegun Jolaawo, both Senior Advocates of Nigeria (SANs), challenged the EFCC’s attorney, Rotimi Oyedepo, during the presentation of these statements. Aliyu argued that Bello's statements were not made voluntarily, while Jolaawo indicated that Sulaiman was threatened by EFCC officials during the acquisition of his statements.

In rebuttal, Oyedepo maintained that many of the statements were recorded in the presence of their legal representative, Z. E Abbas.

The judge subsequently mandated a trial-within-trial to examine the circumstances under which these statements were made, directing prosecution witness Mr. Abubakar to testify in this side trial.

Following the EFCC’s testimony from three witnesses, Bello and Sulaiman presented their defenses. Bello submitted certified copies of a Kogi State High Court judgment and enrolled order but chose not to testify further or present additional witnesses. Conversely, Sulaiman did give testimony as a defense witness, explaining his involvement in the case.

After both parties provided their written submissions in the trial-within- trial, Judge Omotosho scheduled a date for his ruling.

In his ruling, Judge Omotosho noted that witnesses from the EFCC denied any threats directed at the defendants during their statements and highlighted that these statements were not confessions, as the defendants had denied several allegations contained within.

He further noted that while Sulaiman alleged that he was threatened with an electric chair, he had also claimed, during cross-examination, that he did not actually encounter any electric chair during the process of making his statement.

The judge pointed out that Sulaiman acknowledged that a lawyer named Z.E Abbas authorized the statements, confirming they were made in his presence.

He emphasized that the defendants did not dispute that the statements were authored by them, but maintained that they were coerced into making them.

Judge Omotosho concluded that for the defendants to substantiate their claims of coercion, they should have called Abbas to testify, a failure which he deemed a significant error.

He stated that the omission implied that Abbas’s testimony would have been detrimental to their case if presented.

The judge further concluded that the failure to call the lawyer indicated that there was no ground to support the defendants' claims of duress.

Thus, he admitted the six statements made by Bello as Exhibit R to R5 and the two statements made by Sulaiman as Exhibits S and S1, respectively.

Judge Omotosho adjourned the case until April 21 and 24 for the prosecution to present their remaining witnesses, cautioning that a failure to do so could result in the closure of the EFCC's case.