The former Accountant General of the Federation, Ahmed Idris, has accused the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) of deceiving him into admitting to the allegations against him. Idris, along with his co-defendants, is facing trial on 14 charges of stealing and criminal breach of trust amounting to N109.5 billion.
In a statement dated May 16, 2022, and reportedly written by Idris, he claimed that the EFCC promised him that any information he provided would not be used against him, and that they wanted to use him to implicate the Minister of Finance and some other governors.
The prosecution witness, Hayatudeen Ahmed, read out the statement during cross-examination by Idris’ counsel. However, the prosecution witness stated that no such assurances were given, and the statements made by Idris were willingly provided by the defendants, contrary to the claim that they were made under duress.
During the proceedings, the EFCC applied to tender video evidence containing a recorded interview of the defendants at the Commission’s Monitoring Unit Chairman’s office as an exhibit. The defense counsel objected to the admissibility of the video clip, citing lack of time to review its content. However, the trial judge overruled the objections and admitted the video as evidence.
The trial judge adjourned the trial to March 20, 2024, after listening to the cross-examination. Additionally, the judge dismissed his earlier order revoking the bail of Geoffrey Akindele, one of the defendants in the trial. Akindele and Idris are facing charges related to the diversion of public funds.
