Justice Rahman Oshodi of the Special Offences Court, Ikeja, today heard how officials of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC attempted to force a Witness, Henry Omolie, to implicate former Governor of Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, Mr. Godwin Emefiele, in the alleged case of $4.5bn fraud allegation against Emefiele.
The information was dropped by the Witness during the continuation of mini-trial aimed at determining the veracity of a controversial statement the EFCC claimed to have been voluntarily written by Omolie, the 2nd Defendant in the case in which Emefiele is the first Defendant.
Emefiele is facing a 19-count charge bordering on receiving gratification and corrupt demands, while his co-defendant, Omoile, faces a three-count charge relating to the unlawful acceptance of gifts by an agent. Both defendants have pleaded not guilty.
Leading the examination in chief by Omolie’s lawyer, Mr. Adeyinka Kotoye, SAN, the Witness narrated the manner by which the EFCC officials subjected him to almost un-ending interrogating exercises, pushing him from one official to another, and accusing him of not cooperating with them.
According to the Witness, the EFCC asked him about Emefiele’s dispatch rider, Mr. Monday, urging him to write a statement that would be in tandem with a prepared statement of Emefiele’s dispatch rider.
They came up with many selected questions and wanted him to answer in the way that suits the anti-graft agency.
“If my answer is OK with the official statement, he would ask me to write it down. If it’s not Ok, he would tell me to answer it again and again until it’s satisfactory to him.
“When I answered the same way, he would accuse me of being stubborn and rose, only to come again and bring me out the following day to the interrogating room and place same selected questions for me to answer.
“The same process was repeated for three days and when he was still not satisfied, he would go to the head of the team, Mr. Alvaan and declared that I have not answered his questions.
The Witness said on entering the EFCC office on Awolowo Road, Ikoyi, Lagos, on an invite, he told one Mr. Azeez, an EFCC official, that he was accompanied by his personal lawyer and compliant officer from his office, that they be allowed to join me.
Mr Azeez said it’s a personal matter and said the head of interrogating team, Mr. Alvaan would like to have personal discussion with me.
“On reaching M.r Alvaan office, he asked if I knew what I was there for. He told me it was a personal issue. I replied that, in that case I would want my personal lawyer to be with me.
“Mr. Alvaan said it was a personal matter but more related to official. He said I was being invited because one of 1st Defendant’s staff (Emefiele) mentioned my name during the court hearing of his trial, adding that they wanted me to write a statement that would be of the same tune with the statement made by the staff.
“Alvan said they needed my cooperation as a means to release me on bail from the EFCC’s custody. I went back to Mr Azeez who showed me already written statement and asked me to answer the same way”, the Witness said.
Asked to tell the court what he meant by cooperate with them, he said they wanted his statement to corroborate the statement of the dispatch rider’s statement which indicted Emefiele.
According to the Witness, on arriving on 27 April, 2024, at EFCC office on Awolowo Road, he got to the conference room, where he was led to Mr. Alvaan who wanted to know if he could cooperate with the agency.
“He said all I need to do is to write what they wanted me to write. They gave me a prepared statement to rewrite it on A 4 Paper. He asked me to sign and said I should say it was in the presence of my lawyer. I protested that there was no way I could endorse the statement when it obviously was not written in the presence of my lawyer. He replied that it was not compulsory my lawyer was present.
“My lawyer later came in to demand why I should write any statement in his absence. Mr Azeez told me he had warned Nnamdi Offiah, my lawyer, not to talk to me. Mr David (another EFCC official) stood up and challenged Nnamdi and walked him out, as the lawyer was about to answer his questions. “He said the lawyer had been disturbing him, that he should go out. On insistence by my lawyer that he must be present, one Mr. Azeez told him, if he kept arguing with them, he might not continue with process of bailing me out of EFCC custody. Nnamdi later left the EFCC to initiate fundamental rights action on my behalf. That was when they gave me the A4 paper to write the selected questions and answers.
“Mr. Alvaan told me that I refused to cooperate and later told me to sit at awaiting room. Mr. Idris called and started interrogating me, again. He asked several questions. I thought he would ask me to write on official statement.
“Another EFCC official, Mr Ken brought A 4 Paper, collected the one in my hand and went to Mr. Alvaan who said I was not cooperating with them, having seen my statement. I told him I wrote my statement on what I know. Mr. Alvaan said he would give me another chance.
“He asked me how I felt, I told him, I was happy. He said he would release me if I did what they wanted me to do”, the Witness testified.
The trial judge adjourned further hearing in the mini-trial to February 6.