A witness in the ongoing N109.5 billion fraud trial of former Accountant-General of the Federation (AGF) Ahmed Idris testified on Wednesday that she signed a statement written by Mr Idris while in the custody of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) in 2022 because she was assured he would be released. Hajiya Safiya Idris, who regards Mr Idris as a father figure, gave her testimony before Justice Yusuf Halilu of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) High Court in Abuja during a trial-within-trial to determine whether Mr Idris’s statements to the EFCC were obtained voluntarily.
Defence Closes Case in Trial-Within-Trial
With Ms Idris’s testimony, the defence closed its case in the trial-within-trial, prompting Justice Halilu to set 13 October for the adoption of final written addresses regarding the disputed statements. The statements signed by Ms Idris and others, written by Mr Idris during his detention at the EFCC’s office in Abuja, are central to the trial-within-trial, which is an offshoot of the main trial that has been paused since November 2022.
Arrest and Charges
On 10 June 2022, the EFCC arrested Mr Idris in Kano, Kano State, and flew him to Abuja for investigations. He was subsequently charged alongside co-defendants Geoffrey Olusegun Akindele, Mohammed Kudu Usman, and Gezawa Commodity Market and Exchange Limited on 14 counts of stealing and fraudulent diversion of N109.5 billion in public funds. The EFCC was presenting its evidence when the court ordered the trial-within-trial on 22 November 2022 following claims by Mr Idris’s lawyer, Chris Uche, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), that statements made by his client were obtained through deception and inducement.
Witness Testimony
At Wednesday’s proceedings, Mr Uche informed the court that the defence had a witness to present. Led in evidence by her lawyer, Hajiya Safiya Idris identified herself as a resident of Efab Estate, Guzape, Abuja. According to a statement issued by EFCC spokesperson Dele Oyewale, the witness told the court that she had a long-standing relationship with Mr Idris and regarded him “like a father.” Recounting events of 6 June 2022, she said she visited the EFCC headquarters in Abuja to see the former AGF but was initially told he was not in the detention facility. She was eventually allowed into the office where he was, and two EFCC officers, Hayatu and Mahmud, asked her to sign as a witness to a statement authored by Mr Idris. When shown the statement in court, she confirmed that both the signature and handwriting on the document were hers. She said she wrote that the statement was taken in her presence because she had been assured that Mr Idris would be released.
Cross-Examination
During cross-examination by prosecution lawyer Oluwaleke Atolagbe, Ms Idris admitted that she was neither invited nor investigated by the EFCC and that she visited the commission on her own. She alleged that Mr Idris had already completed the statement before she was allowed into the office and that she only signed after it had been concluded. Asked whether the defendant knew she was at the EFCC before she entered the office, she answered in the negative and said he only became aware of her presence when she was invited in to sign. Mr Atolagbe drew her attention to a portion of the 6 June 2022 statement that read: “In addition to my last statement, I wish to state that I am writing this statement in the presence of Hajiya Idris Safiya.” Asked whether that portion was written before she entered the interrogation room, she said she did not know at what stage it was written. She also confirmed that her name did not appear on any of the defendant’s other statements because she was not present when they were taken. Responding to further questions, Ms Idris admitted that she did not lodge any complaint after signing the statement and agreed that she was under no obligation to write anything for the EFCC because she was not under investigation. She maintained that she was not lying when she wrote that the statement was taken in her presence.
Background of the Case
Mr Idris served as Accountant-General of the Federation from June 2015 until his suspension in May 2022 following an EFCC investigation into the alleged diversion of public funds. He was replaced in an acting capacity before a substantive successor was appointed. The EFCC arraigned him alongside his co-defendants in July 2022 on 14 charges, including alleged diversion of N109.5 billion. The defendants pleaded not guilty. On 22 November 2022, the judge ordered a trial-within-trial after Mr Idris challenged the admissibility of his statements to EFCC investigators. The defence argued that the statements were obtained through inducement and deception, while the prosecution insisted they were voluntary.
Previous Witnesses
During the trial-within-trial, the prosecution called EFCC investigators who denied claims that Mr Idris was promised immunity or induced to make statements. On 26 June 2024, Abdulhamid Isa Muri, an EFCC official from the Kano office, testified as the prosecution’s third witness. The defence later opened its case and called witnesses, including officials connected to the Office of the Accountant-General. In April, a retired Director of Legal Services in the Office of the Accountant-General, Haruna Alabi, testified as a witness for Mr Idris. He said he signed a statement written on 17 May 2022 by Mr Idris in EFCC custody, stating, “As our former boss, we wanted to show empathy.”
Charges and Recoveries
The EFCC alleged that Mr Idris and his co-defendants committed the fraud between February and December 2021. It alleged that Mr Idris accepted a gratification of N15 billion from Olusegun Akindele as a motive for accelerating the payment of 13 per cent derivation to nine oil-producing states. It also alleged that N84,390,000,000 from the federal government’s account was converted by the first and second defendants between February and November 2021. The EFCC said the offence contravenes Sections 155 and 315 of the Penal Code Act Cap 532 Laws of the Federation of Nigeria 1990. In December 2022, EFCC obtained a court order for an interim forfeiture of assets, including $899,900, N304,490,160.95, and 15 properties in Kano and Abuja. EFCC chairman Ola Olukoyede announced in December 2022 that the commission had recovered over N30 billion from Mr Idris. Assets traced to him include the Gezawa Commodity Market in Kano State and an Ultra-Modern Mall worth more than N700 million.
